Shattered Memories
by MadeOfPeanutButter
Summary: In their restless dreams, they can still remember everything that happened in that town; Edgevale. The loud silence still echoes in their ears; the quiet screams of the living dead. Their misshapen forms still lurk in the darkest corners of their mind, driving them to the very depths of insanity. There's no going back. There's no changing it. And there is no escape. NaLu
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

In their restless dreams, they can still remember everything that happened in that town; Edgevale. The loud silence still echoes in their ears; the quiet screams of the living dead. Their misshapen forms still lurk in the darkest corners of their mind, driving them to the very depths of insanity. There's no going back. There's no changing it. And there is no escape.

::::

"Are we there yet?" Her little sister, Wendy, whined from her uncomfortable position beside her.

"Almost," Their mother assured her. They were driving through snow that came down in torrents, icing the surface of the road. It was dark outside, and the blond teenager looked up to search for stars, but the snowflakes were too thick.

"Where are we going again?" She asked. Her patience was growing incredibly short. They'd been driving for nearly twenty-four hours, and hadn't seen a town in almost three. _This better not be some dumb camping trip_.

"A city called Magnolia," Her mother explained. "I heard it's absolutely gorgeous in the winter. Vicky said that she's been here once, and that it was really, really beautiful..." Her voice trailed off as her daughter began to tune her out. No matter what they talked about, she always managed to bring the conversation back to her work.

"Okay, I asked where we were going, not every damn detail about it." She snapped.

"You can drop the attitude." Her mother crossed her arms and looked back at her. "Because I'm not having it."

"Well, maybe, I wouldn't have an attitude if every damn thing that came out of your mouth wasn't about work!" The young girl crossed her arms as well and looked out the window. "I'm tired of hearing about it! I don't care about Vicky! I don't care about clients! I don't care about your coworkers! I don't care about _you_! You're so annoying, you don't know when to shut up, you think you're funny, but you're _not_! So just shut up for once and don't get in to every little detail!"

The older woman was silent, before turning back around and facing the road. "You're grounded when we get back."

"Oh, I'm grounded for speaking my mind? For saying something you didn't want to hear? I'm sorry that not every person on this earth is going to compliment you!" The younger of the two resumed her position of looking out the window. Her hand slowly reached down to her pocket to feel for the switch blade she always kept with her. Relieved when she felt the familiar lump against the rough fabric, she closed her eyes.

Her body slowly began to shut itself down, and she fell deeper and deeper into her slumber, but awoke as soon as the car began to stop. _This is my chance_, she thought. Her fingers trembled as they wrapped around the door handle. She took a deep breath and concentrated. _You can do this,_ She told herself. Then, the car began to move. _Now! Quickly! Now!_ Yanking her hand back, the door flew open, and she toppled out behind it.

She could feel herself tumbling and falling, and she wasn't sure if she was facing up or down, or which way was which, but she was free. That's all that mattered.

::::

The ice chilled him to the bone as he placed one foot in front of the other, making his way to a little abandoned cottage. It was his happy place, his sanctuary, _his_. He hugged his schoolbooks closer to his chest, and wound the scarf around his neck a little tighter. _Crunch, crunch_, he thought as he left footprints behind him in the snow. It was really piling up now, and he had to basically march to get through it. The wind burned his eyes and cheeks, but he pressed on. He couldn't go back now, not after _that_.

_"Get down here this instant!" His mother called him from the kitchen. _

_Quickly, he padded down the stairs and rushed to his mother's side. _

_"Ma'am?" He addressed his mother politely. _

_"What is this?" She pointed toward the dirty dishes in the sink. _

_"I was hungry and I guess I forgot to clean it up..." He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. _

_"You _guess_ you _forgot_?" She grabbed a wooden spoon from the top of the counter and hit him across the cheek with it. "Why can't you take that damned cat of yours and leave already?!" _

He shuddered at the mere remembrance of the moment. His hand gently rubbed at the sleeves of his jacket, where bruises and scars were hidden behind the fabric. When he had left, his cat, Happy, was nowhere to be found. One could only hope he was safe.

The snow had piled up even thicker, and he was now dragging his feet as his legs went numb. The last thing he heard before he collapsed was the distant sound of ice breaking and water splashing.

::::

_Damn, _he thought as he shoveled snow from the driveway of the only house on the street. _Did it really have to be this cold?_ His breath came out in clouds, and he watched them disappear into the air. Despite the weather, he still worked shirtless. It was a habit of his, concentration meant nudity. Those were just bare facts.

The muslces in his arms tensed with every shovel-full of snow he lifted. The holes were filled as even more began to rain down. He rested his head on the handle and took slow, deep breaths.

"That's enough for today," His employer called to him from the house. "Come on inside, dear."

He made his way to the front porch, and tapped his shoes off before entering the house. The elderly woman handed him a cup of hot tea. "You worry me, working like that. Especially for the length of time you do it. It's already dark, you should get home."

"Yes, ma'am," He gave her a small hug before returning outside.

"Be careful," She warned him, before shutting the door.

A haunting tune flowed from his lips as he walked. Whistling as he progressed, he noticed the snow had begun to fall harder, and had become increasingly cold. He stopped for a moment and listened. The town was extremely loud, even though not many people lived there. Screeching filled his ears, to the point where he had to cover them. Confused, he closed his eyes and walked in a random direction, hoping to escape the sound. It only got louder. Something hard ran into him, and he blacked out right there.

::::

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. _Blades stabbed into the bark of the tree as she angrily threw them. Who _dared_ to leave her standing there, in the middle of nowhere? It was cold, and she had no idea where she was. She remembered being tossed into the trunk of the car, then being tossed out as the car drove away. She had found a dumpster nearby, where she had found an entire set of knives. They weren't very sharp, but they still worked to get out anger. Wind whirled her wild, scarlet red hair around her head, stung her eyes, and chapped her cheeks. But, she didn't dare move from this spot. Somebody had to pass by eventually, and she'd get help then. If she wandered, she might never be found. _When lost, hug a tree_. She thought. Stabbing was close enough to hugging for her.

A tree branch dropped a giant glob of snow on the top of her head, and she become dizzy and unbalanced. After stumbling for a while, she plummeted to the ground.

::::

When the blonde awoke, she was freezing cold. Her hair was frozen and matted to her head, and her lips had turned a shade of blue. Shivering, she stood up and began to walk. She wasn't sure where, and she didn't care at the moment.

The only thing on her mind was the immense amount of pain she felt in her back at the moment and the sting of the freezing weather around her. She didn't know how long she'd been walking, but her feet led her to what seemed to be an abandoned part of a town. A snow-covered car sat parked beside an insurance agency, and she noticed a fast food restaurant entitled "Wonderland" to her right. She stepped toward it slowly, and a bell chimed as she stepped through the door. It was dim in there, and no one was at the counter. She walked up to it and quietly called, "Hello?" No one answered her. She moved to sit down at one of the tables, collapsing from the icy exhaustion she felt all over her body.

::::

He had awoken covered in snow, and extremely cold. _How long have I been out_? He asked himself as he shakily stood up. He looked over the edge of the land at the frozen lake, and he realized a set of footprints trailed across it. Sliding down the frozen hillside, he began to follow the steps, right to the doors of an abandoned burger joint. He didn't see any footsteps leading away from it. The bells chimed as he stepped inside. "Hello?" He called out to the empty restaurant. He dragged himself to the counter and tried again. "Hello?"

He heard a small whimper from behind him. He turned around to see a girl, sleeping at one of the tables. Her hair was partially frozen and her lips were a purple color.

"Hey," He whispered as he tried to shake her awake. "Hey, wake up."

Her eyes shot open and she looked up at him. Then, they filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed hot tears into his chest.

"Oh God," she whispered. "I thought I was the only one. I was so scared."

He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and placed his hand on the back of her head. "It's okay," He said quietly. "You're okay."

Just then, the bell chimed again. The boy looked up to see another girl, one with red hair, had entered. She cautiously made her way over to them, and plopped down into the other side of the table. "Mind if I sit here?" She asked.

"By all means," The boy mouthed back, not wanting to interrupt the girl sobbing against him. He brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, then fixed his own pink locks.

The red head rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes. "Where are we?" She asked.

"I was about to ask you the same question," The pink-headed man said. "I don't think she knows, either." He nodded his head toward the girl crushed against him. Her sobbing had quieted now, but her shoulders still heaved as she gasped for breath.

"I passed out in the snow, and I didn't recognize anything when I woke up." The second girl told him.

"Same here," He replied.

"Yo." The two of them turned toward the voice, which was behind the counter. There stood a shirtless boy, who looked extremely cold. "I didn't expect to find anyone here." He hopped over the counter and trudged over to them. "Can anyone tell me exactly where we are?"

"We were just discussing the same topic." They said in unison.

"What's wrong with her?" He motioned to the girl sobbing into the other boy's chest.

"I don't know," He replied. "She's upset, though. I'm Natsu." He stuck his hand out to the shirtless man in front of him.

"Gray," He said, returning the handshake.

"Erza." The red-headed girl gave a small, three-fingered wave.

Through her tears, in a dry, cracked voice, the blonde croaked out, "Lucy."

"Only one question remains," Natsu said. "Where the hell are we?"

**Good? Bad? Too short? TELL MEH!**

**~Cassadee**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

"Only one question remains," Natsu said. "Where the hell are we?"

"Well how did you get here?" Gray asked.

"I passed out in the snow and then I woke up and didn't recognize anything." Natsu explained.

"Erza?" Gray looked toward her.

"Same," She said plainly.

"Lucy? Can you tell me how you got here?" Gray asked calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I was... in the car with my parents." She began, between gasps. "My mom made me...mad. I opened...the car door and... fell out. I was falling off... the edge of a cliff... but I passed... out before I reached the bottom. I... woke up... in a lake..." She took a big breath and began to sob again.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anymore," Gray said. "I was hit by something, it was moving fast. I blacked out after that, then woke up with a few broken ribs."

"That explains how we all _got _here," Erza began. "But where _are_ we?"

"Let's go find out." Natsu stood up, before realizing he was still attached to the now sleeping Lucy.

"What about her?" Gray asked.

"Easy." He picked her up and swung her onto his back, tucking his hands into the crooks of her knees. Her arms draped down around neck and his chest, which was soaked with her tears. "Gray, get my scarf and wrap it around her neck."

Gray did as he was told.

"Let's go." Erza sighed, before everyone followed her out of the restaurant.

The cold bit at their already freezing bodies, and the wind just made it worse. Natsu could feel Lucy shivering on his back, and for a moment, he felt a tinge of sympathy for her. The feeling didn't last as he realized they were all in the same situation.

"Damn," muttered Gray. "Why is this town so cold?"

"I was just thinking the same thing." Erza rubbed at the goosebumps forming on her shoulders. "Why haven't we seen anyone else?"

"Who in their right minds would be out in this weather, other than us?" Gray replied.

"I haven't seen a single house, though," Natsu stated.

The only sound that resounded in the air was the crunching of their feet in the snow. They looked behind them at the abandoned section of town, and shuddered as another cool gust of wind blew by.

"There has to be a police station or something nearby," Erza said as her teeth began to chatter. "Somewhere to get help."

Natsu readjusted Lucy's position on his back. "Maybe there's a hotel somewhere close."

"In a creepy place like this?" Gray snorted. "Fat chance."

"Well, she needs help soon." Natsu nodded his head backward at the girl sleeping restlessly against him. "Where do you suggest we go?"

"We can go back to the restaurant." Gray thought for a moment. "I came in through the back door. There was a whole other section of town behind it."

"You could have said that earlier, you know." Natsu turned on his heels, moving his grip on Lucy's legs, and began back the way they came.

Snow had begun to drift down again, though it wasn't as hard as before. It sprinkled all around them, dusting their hair with little beads of white. Gray glanced at Lucy, who was, despite her slumber, shivering violently from the sting of the cold. She wasn't wearing anything but a skirt on her legs. Without thinking, Gray slid his pants off, leaving him in only underwear.

"What are you _doing_?" Erza screeched, shielding her eyes.

"I think Lucy needs them more than me. Natsu, put Lucy down on the hood of that car over there." Natsu did as Gray told him, and the nearly naked boy walked over to the soundly sleeping girl. He placed her feet in either pants leg, and stood her up. Using his body as a stand for her own, he hoisted the pants up her goosebump-covered legs. He tucked her skirt inside and pulled the belt tightly around her thin waist.

"Here." Erza shed her jacket to reveal another one underneath. "I don't think I really need two." Her cheeks turned red as she handed him the coat. Gray knew she was cold, but wouldn't admit it. _It's her choice,_ he thought, and pulled the sleeves over Lucy's bare arms.

"Can we go now?" Natsu asked impatiently, then lifted Lucy back on top of him.

"Yeah, yeah." Gray started walking back toward Wonderland.

_Who exactly are these people?_ Natsu thought to himself as they continued on. _How can I be so sure I can trust them?_

Just then, a shrill sound broke through the silence. It screamed and writhed; bellowed and hollered. Natsu brought his hands up to his ears to block out the noise, dropping Lucy in the process. He hurriedly picked her out of the snow and wrapped an arm around her waist, securing hers around his neck. Lucy was dragged along beside him as the three ran to the restaurant. Her eyes shot open at the force, and the cringed shut again at the loudness of the screams.

Natsu, oblivious to her consciousness, was focused on getting everyone to safety, whoever they were. They were together in this, and he'd be damned if he let something happen to one of them.

With the restaurant in sight, everyone charged full steam ahead. The cold air burned their lungs, and the screams shattered their ear drums. They huffed out clouds of exhausted air, then forced themselves to breath in more. The freezing snow strained the already tired muscles in their legs, and they burned and protested with every step taken. But they went on. That restaurant could be their only hope.

Sure enough, as soon as the bells chimed, the screaming stopped. The air was still and quiet, so tense you could slice it with a knife.

"Guh," Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes again. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Gray said. "Just follow me."

Lucy stumbled over the pants Gray had given her when she tried to stand up. Erza and Natsu grabbed her elbows to steady her.

"Whose pants am I wearing?" Lucy looked up to see a pantless man in front of her. "Nevermind. Thank you."

"Come on." Gray started toward the counter. "Follow me."

Natsu and Gray went over first, then helped Erza (who was still shivering). Lucy stood back, nervous about trusting these people. She didn't know them, they didn't know her. They could be lying, what if they tried to kill her?

"Lucy?" Natsu broke her from her trance. "Come on."

"I'm not going." She crossed her arms.

"Yes you are." He reached over and grabbed her upper arms. "Because we aren't leaving you here."

"And why not?" She stepped back and moved herself out of range.

"Because none of us know where the hell we are, we haven't seen anybody else, and only God knows what those screams were." He urged her back toward the counter. Both guys stuck out a hand, and Lucy skeptically grabbed hold of each of them. She lifted up a leg and placed it on the counter. Natsu and Gray pulled her arms to help her get on top, and she slid to the other side. _If they were trying to kill me, would they have given me their clothes? _

"Let's see, there were two doors back here," Gray closed his eyes and thought. "The one I came through, and the one I didn't. Which one do you want to use?"

"Was there anything through the door you came through?" Erza asked.

"Just another section of abandoned town," Gray told her.

"Then let's go through the one you didn't come through." They all started walking, Lucy holding on tightly to Erza's shoulders. This woman seemed strong and fearless, and Lucy thought she would be a great bodyguard if anything happened.

It was dark on the otherside of the door. "Damn," Natsu muttered. "Does anyone have a flashlight?"

"I have some matches," Erza reached into her shirt and grabbed a small box. "Is there a piece of wood or something we can use as a torch?"

"Light one of those babies up so we can see." The soft sound of Natsu rubbing his hands together whispered through the air, then the sound of a match ignitiing. A dim orange glow illuminated their small circle, and everyone looked up. The wooden rafters crisscrossed above them.

"Well, there's wood, but no way to get it." Gray crossed his arms and crinkled his nose.

Lucy remembered her switchblade. "W-wait," She stammered. "I have a knife. I don't know if it will work, but you can try." She reached into the pants, and then her skirt to retrieve the item.

"One last question, how do we get up there?" Natsu furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Here." Gray locked his fingers and put them at the height of Lucy's knee. "Climb on."

It got dark.

"Sorry," Erza said, lighting another match.

"Lucy, get on my hands," Gray demanded.

"No," She protested. "I've been carried enough today."

"I don't care, this is for everyone's sake!" He snapped back at her.

Without another word, she stepped on him. He slowly lifted her up to the rafters, and she got to work.

Erza lit another match.

Gray began to tremble, his hands got tired, his arms began to burn. "Please, hurry," he squeaked.

"I'm trying," She said calmly. Lucy had cut through one side of the wood, and Gray was almost at his limit. She started on the other side. _Come on,_ she thought. _Hurry up. _She stole a small glance on her wrist, the strawberry gashes were beginning to fade. _Damn_.

Then, there was nothing beneath her. Lucy grabbed onto the piece of wood she had been cutting, and it groaned under her weight.

"You idiot!" She heard Erza say from below her. "Lucy are you okay?"

"Fine and dandy!" She called back sarcastically. The wood broke a little more, and she squealed. It took a final crack and she was tumbling down. She waited for the hard impact of the ground, but it never came. Opening her eyes, she saw Natsu was holding her. Lucy looked at Erza. "I got the wood!"

Hurriedly, Erza lit another match. Holding it against the wood, she waited for it to catch. It never did. "Great," She groaned. "Just great."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"The wood is coated with a nonflammable material. It won't light."

"Great," Natsu said sarcastically. "Well, come on."

The four walked down the passage in silence and darkness, waiting for the red glow of an exit sign.

Erza yawned. "The dark makes me sleepy."

"You can't fall asleep," Gray said. "It isn't safe."

"I know." Erza forced her eyes to stay open. _Why hasn't there been a sign or something_?

Up ahead, there was the dim lighting of the letters "E" "I" and "T".

"There!" Gray shouted, and they all ran toward it. Slamming into the handle, he was greeted with only a sharp pain in his hands as he was thrown back. "Locked."

"We have to use force." Natsu backed up and got a running start. He jumped and kicked the door near the latch, then was thrown back as the door didn't budge. Erza moved quickly, catching him and setting him up for another try.

It went on like game, each time the door gave a little more. Finally, it burst open, revealing the grey, cloudy sky, and the drifts of snow.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see snow again," Lucy sighed, flinging herself down to the icy ground.

"We don't have time to be happy." Gray caught Lucy by the wrist, ripping her off the ground and forcing her to run.

Her blonde hair bobbed on her shoulders and her feet pounded through the snow. The only thing in sight was the gray stretch of the road and never-ending sea of white.

"_Lucy..._" She heard her little sister's voice echoing all around her. "_Do you like the game, Lucy?_" A demonic giggle rang out. _"It's just for you!" _

She fell to her knees, snatching her hand away from Gray and placed them both over her ears. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She screamed. "Who are you? Who the hell _are _you?!" Steaming tears dripped down her face, landing in small splatters on the dark surface of Gray's pants.

"Lucy?" Erza's voice broke through the devilish laugh. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She wiped her face with the back of her hands. "Let's go."

::::

"I could swear we've been here before," Lucy complained.

"Me too," Erza agreed.

"That makes three of us," Gray said. "Natsu, are you sure you know where you're going?"

"I think so." He didn't sound too sure of himself.

"That didn't sound too convincing..." Erza's shoulders sagged. Then, she ran into a pole. "What the hell?"

"'Makarov Highschool,'" Lucy looked up and read the sign.

"This is where I go to school," Natsu said. "I told you I knew where we were going."

"So, why exactly are we here?" Gray asked.

"They sometimes use the gym as a shelter in weather like this." Natsu started walking through the thick blanket of snow. "Come on, maybe someone's inside."

**~End of Chapter Two~**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Their footsteps echoed off the concrete walls of the dark, quiet school building.

"Oi, Natsu." Gray looked around. "Is it always this creepy in here?"

"Now that I think about it, it looks a lot different from it usually does." Natsu stopped for a moment.

"If you go to school here, don't you know where we are?" Erza demanded, crossing her arms.

"Well, I guess this is my town, Edgevale," Natsu began. "But it doesn't look right."

"This is too weird." Gray closed his eyes and sighed. "Where is everyone, and why does it look like this?"

"My locker is down this hall a ways," Natsu said. "I don't know what good it will do, but we can go check it for something."

"I think it's worth a shot," Erza interrupted.

"One more thing," Gray held up a finger. "and why hasn't this occurred to anyone, do you have your phones with you?"

Everyone reached into their pockets (except Gray, who had no pants) and pulled out their cellular devices. Dialing a number and holding the receiver up to their ears, they listened for ringing. Lucy was the only one who got through to something, and even then, her connection was staticy. "_You've reached the krrsh-mail of krrsssh-lyn Pontmercy. krrrssh message." _

"That's weird," Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "I could swear I called my mother." She tried again, but got the same result.

Natsu decided to change the subject. "My locker's this way, let's go."

In silence, they followed Natsu down the halls of the unfamiliar building. The only thing that could be heard was the running air conditioning and the tapping of their feet along the tile floors.

When they reached what Natsu recognized as his locker, they waited for him to open the lock. "14-36-26." He recited the numbers out loud as he twisted the knob. It made a _click _as it opened. The door swung open to reveal poster after poster of different bands. Textbooks and other school materials were neatly organized on shelves.

"Natsu, you like Motionless in White?" Erza asked. ripping the poster off the back door of the locker.

"This isn't my stuff." Natsu stared in disbelief at what laid before him. Where were his things? _His _textbooks? _His _notebooks?

A loud crackling sound filled the air. Everyone turned around to face the source of the noise, and their eyes widened in shock as the contents of the building were mangled and turned black.

"What the hell?" Lucy screamed. But it was too late. The forms of Natsu and Erza covered in darkness, their terrified facial expressions etched into the glittering stone. "Gray, what the hell is going on here?"

"If I knew, don't you think I would say?" He said.

They stood back to back, arms spread out to their sides, taking in their surroundings. It was silent, but loud; dark, yet light; they had no sense of time. What seemed like hours may only have been a few minutes. A choked sob escaped Lucy's throat. "I wanna go home!" She screamed. "This is all a nightmare! I'll wake up in the car! The fight with my mom never happened! I didn't roll off a cliff! I'm dreaming!" She closed her eyes and counted to ten, then reopened them. Nothing had changed. It was still dark and mangled.

Then, the faint sound of _step...draaaag...step...draaaag._ The sound got closer, the two's hearts began to pound. "Lucy?" Gray squeaked.

"Yeah?"

"You hear that too, right?"

"Very clearly."

A shrill scream pierced the air, then the _step, drag_ grew faster and louder.

Lucy and Gray stole a final glance at their frozen companions before they took off running. "I don't know what that sound was, and I really don't wanna stick around to find out!" Gray hopped up a crooked flight of stairs, dragging Lucy close behind him.

"That makes two of us!"

Pushing Lucy in front of him, he said, "Whatever you do, don't turn around. Don't look back, run forward. Don't stop running."

"Gray, what are you-"

She couldn't hear his footsteps behind her anymore. As she began to pivot to look at him, he shouted, "Don't turn around! Go!"

Without a second thought, she sped down the crystalized hallway. She focused on the flooring in front of her, only turning when she came to a dead end.

From her back, she could a hear a faint yell. _Oh God, _she thought, worrying that Gray had gotten hurt. Nevertheless, she kept running.

As she opened a door, everything slowly regained its dull color. She sighed, hoping the worst was over. "Gray?" She called out softly. "Gray, are you there?"

When she got no answer, she tried calling out for Natsu and Erza. She was answered with only the pin-drop silence from before. Before she could stop them, tears poured over the rims of her eyes. They trailed down her face as her cheeks stained themselves red.

Lucy nearly jumped out of her shoes when someone rested a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and came face to face with Erza. Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around the scarlet haired girl's torso and sobbed into her shoulder.

"Lucy, what happened?" She asked. "We remember everything turning black, then you and Gray were gone."

"You and Natsu were frozen in crystal." Lucy started to recollect everything that happened. "There was this weird sound of someone limping down the hallway, and Gray told me to run. So I did. That's the last I saw of him. Somehow I ended up back here, with everything back to normal."

"Crystal?" She heard Natsu ask from behind Erza. "What do you mean 'crystal?'"

"I'm not sure exactly _what _it was. It was sort of black, but it was transparent. I could still see you guys, you looked terrified." She nearly choked on her own tears.

Erza petted the back of Lucy's head. "It's okay," she cooed. "We'll find Gray. We'll get out of here. Everything will be okay."

"Luce..." Natsu sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She croaked.

"I'm the one who dragged you into this." He rested his head in his hands. "I shouldn't have told you to get over the counter."

"It's not your fault." She detatched herself from Erza and walked over to him. "Don't blame yourself for this. We're all in this together." Placing a hand on his shoulder, she added, "Don't you think it's weird we all passed out and ended up in the same place? It couldn't be helped, Natsu."

He was silent.

"Come on," She rubbed her hand on his shoulder a few times. "Let's go find Gray."

::::

"Gray!" They all shouted. For hours, they had been wandering around the campus, searching for their lost friend.

"Maybe he left already," Erza suggested. "Maybe he went to find help."

"I don't think so," Natsu argued. "But we probably need to leave anyway."

"We can't just leave him here!" Lucy cried.

"We don't have a choice, Lucy!" Erza insisted. "He'll be fine. We're talking about the guy who strips in the dead of winter."

Reluctantly, Lucy followed them out onto the snow covered grounds. Shoving her hands into the pockets of Gray's pants, she hummed to herself.

All of a sudden, Natsu cried out. "Hey!"

"Natsu, what're y-" Then Erza saw it, in the distance, there was the figure of a parked car.

"Lucy, Erza, let's go!" The ran through the snow, their eyes dead-set on the vehicle in front of them.

It slowly became clearer, its lines becoming bolder, its dimensions growing more real. One of the doors stood open, leaving snowflakes to pile on the inside.

"Oh." Natsu's shoulders dropped.

"It's abandoned," Erza said.

"Like the rest of this godforsaken town," Lucy grumbled.

"Well, we might be able to find something useful!" Natsu faked cheer. "Let's just look, okay?"

"Fine," Erza agreed. "You're right. There might be something useful here."

Hurrying over to the abandoned automobile, Natsu began to dig the snow out of the driver's seat. His fingers went numb under the touch of the freezing ice, but he perservered. He was ready to be out of this terrifying nightmare, and anything they could find might be of help. With the seat cleared, he scrambled over to the glove box. As he shuffled through papers, he looked for anything like a map or an address, but didn't find any. The most useful thing he stumbled upon was a small flashlight and a change of batteries. _Better than nothing,_ he thought.

"Hey, Natsu, what's this?" Erza asked, sitting in the driver's seat beside him. In her hand, she held a small, leather pouch.

"Looks like a wallet." Natsu gently plucked the item from her hands and opened it. His eyes went wide at the name. "_Mirajane Strauss."_

"Natsu, what's wrong?" Erza looked at him, puzzled.

"This is a police badge," Natsu said, disbelievingly. "I know this girl, but she's only two grades ahead of me in school, she couldn't be an officer."

"Are you sure, Natsu?" Erza narrowed her eyes. "It could just be the same name."

"No, it has a picture," Natsu told her. "It's definitely the Mirajane I know."

"Hey, guys!" Lucy called from outside the car. "I think I see another building!"

Quickly, Natsu and Erza stepped out of the car, looking the direction Lucy was. Sure enough, there was a large, rectangular building in the distance.

"What do you think it is?" Lucy asked.

"Only one way to find out." Natsu sighed and walked toward it, much less eager than before.

As they neared it, the features became more distinct. They could make out a pool and a parking lot. along with several stories of windows.

"A hotel?" Erza asked.

"I don't remember there being a hotel near the school," Natsu said suspiciously.

"But, maybe there's someone inside!" Lucy exclaimed, running toward the building.

Natsu caught up to her and grabbed her wrist. "Or something terrible could happen. Don't rush ahead on your own."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I'm capable of taking care of myself, you know."

Natsu didn't say anything. The three of them just walked together in silence toward the inn. The glass doors slid open, welcoming them into the warmth of the lobby.

"Hello?" Erza called out. Of course, no one answered.

"Hey, Lucy," Natsu got an idea. "Your phone works, right?"

"Yeah," She replied. "But it's really staticy."

"That's okay."

Lucy retrieved her phone and handed it to Natsu. He opened Mirajane's police badge, and dialed the number he saw there.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Mira?" He got excited. "Mira! It's Natsu!"

"Natsu?" She asked, disbelievingly. Then her tone got serious. "Is this some kind of a joke?!"

"What?" He asked, his eyes widening.

"Don't you dare call here again! You're sick!" _Click._

Natsu stared at the phone. "What the _hell _is going on here?!"

**~End of Chapter Three~**

_**s/n: I know this story seems like Gray x Lucy, but it's not. It will all work out in good time. **_


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

"So, does anyone have even the _slightest _idea of what's going on here?" Natsu was sprawled out on the red and gold love seat in the lobby of an abandoned hotel.

"Don't you think we would say something if we knew?" Lucy said, her attitude and fear growing more obvious by the minute.

"We probably need to stay here for a while," Erza suggested. "I think we could use a break."

"I agree," Natsu said. "Anyone got any good scary stories?"

"Nope." Lucy shook her head. "No, thank you. You can tell stories all you want, but count _me _out."

"Aw, come on, Luce." Natsu flashed her a wide smile. "Don't you want to feel the adrenaline pumping in your veins, your heart racing so fast it feels like it's gonna beat out of your chest?"

"I'm already feeling that!" She cried and slumped into her chair. "I'm already terrified."

"Yeah, but this will be _fun _terrifying," Natsu insisted. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"No." She said. "And that's final."

"Fine," Natsu sighed. "Got any other ideas?"

"How about we sleep?" Erza said, intervening, before they could get any farther into an argument.

"Yeah," Natsu grumbled. "Whatever."

Lucy shut her eyes and tried to sleep, flipping herself every which way, uncomfortable no matter what position she was in. Her throat got itchy and dry, and, after coughing a few times, she decided to get up and retrieve water. Her feet padded along the carpeted hallways of the building, as she twisted and turned, finding her way through the corridors.

Faintly, she could hear the sound of water dripping. _Step, draaaaaag_. _Step, draaaaaag. _

She stopped dead in her tracks, listening for the gut churning sound. _Step, draaaaaag._ Her heart began to speed up, to the point were she could see it, pumping her chest up and down rapidly. _Not now, _she thought._ Not here._ Tears escaped her large, round eyes, sliding down her cheeks, puffing up the skin under her eyes.

_Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaackle. _Lucy turned around, her eyes widening in fear. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as the glittering stone crept toward her, shrouding her in darkness and silence.

::::

Natsu's eyes shot open. What was that sound? "Erza? Lucy?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Lucy?" He questioned again when he noticed the chair she had been sleeping in was empty. "Where are you?"

_Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaackle._ Natsu shifted his head and looked to his right, where the front desk and red patterned carpet were being flooded with black stone. "No." He said, disbelieving what he saw. "That can't be." Wide awake now, he tried to shake Erza awake, but her loud snores showed that she had no intention of waking up any time soon. It took everything he had not to break down when she, too, was covered in the crystals.

"Lucy?" He called out, but was returned only with silence. _Step, draaaaaag. _"What was that?" He whispered to no one. _Step, draaaaaag_. He heard his heart beating in his chest. Quickening his pace, he scurried down the hall. Natsu closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, calming his spinning brain. He hurried along, but stopped when he saw Lucy's figure a ways down the corridor. "Lucy," He whispered. "Lucy!" He ran toward her, forcing his legs to go as fast as they could. Placing his hands on her crystalized shoulders, he looked her in her stone cold eyes. "I'm getting you and Erza out of here." His heart began to slow down. "I promise."

_Step, draaaaaag. Step, draaaaaag_. "No," He said. "No." Natsu wrapped his arms around Lucy's hardened waist, and tried to pull her off the ground. Reluctantly, with a loud cracking noise, her feet detached themselves from the floor. He took off running, the girl tucked under his arm.

::::

"Come on, come on, come on," He scolded himself. He was getting no where. Natsu could swear he had been there before, at least three times. It was silent, except for his gasps for breath. _A little break couldn't hurt. _He slouched against a wall, laying the frozen Lucy across his tired legs. Natsu brought his hand down and whipped it across Lucy's cheek, only hoping it would do something. From what he could see, there was no effect. Resting one hand on the top of her head, and resting the other on the floor beside him, he sighed and thought about what could be going on. _Step, draaaaaag_.

He stopped and listened. _Step, draaaaaag. _"Come on, you bastard," Natsu said under his breath. "Show me who you are." He closed his eyes and waited. _Step, draaaaaag. Step, draaaaaag._Slowly, it got closer. Natsu hugged Lucy to his chest, just wanting to hold onto something, and cried. Was this the end?

The sound moved until it was right in front of him. Frightened, Natsu opened his eyes. What stood there was what seemed like a giant heap of muscle, stitches held it together in places, and where a face should've been, there was nothing. As it got down on all fours to sniff out Natsu, its joints moved irregularly. They shifted and turned, were twisted and mangled. It towered over Natsu, only inches from his face. Clawlike fingers reached out for the girl in his arms, and, instinctively, Natsu slapped the hand away. Just when it was about to attack, a streak of color whipped by and tackled it, wrestling it to the ground. "Hey ugly!" The person said. "It's me you were chasing right now, don't leave me hanging."

"Gray?" Natsu whispered.

"Get out of here," Gray growled. "I'll find a way out eventually."

"What kind of man would I be if I let you show me up?" Natsu asked.

"Just go, Natsu!" Gray yelled. "This isn't the time to be worrying about pride!" He screamed out in pain as the skin on his chest was ripped apart. "Go!"

Natsu scrambled to his feet, running the opposite direction of Gray and the creature. Somehow, from what Natsu could see, they were in the lobby of the hotel. He glanced over at the couch.

Erza was gone. _Damn it,_ he thought, before bursting out into the dark, snowy night. Natsu placed Lucy down and crossed his arms on her stomach. He sobbed and wailed into them, soaking his skin. "Natsu?"

"Lucy?" He turned his head to look at her. "Oh god, Lucy!" Without thinking, he scooped her up to his chest, pressing his nose against her neck, breathing in her scent.

"What happened?" Lucy asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Why are we outside?"

"Everything turned black, you and Erza too." Natsu held her even tighter. "When I was running, trying to find a way out, I managed to get you. I found Gray, but he ran off to protect us. Then when I went back to get Erza, she was gone." He purposely left out the part about the thing, because it would probably terrify her even more than she already was.

"Oh." Was all Lucy could manage to get out.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "Here, take off the pants and jacket for a minute, I want to make sure you really are fine."

Lucy was hesitant, but stripped down. Almost immediately, she started shivering. "Sorry," Natsu said, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to keep her warm. He used his other arm to search her body, looking for anything unusual. The skin on her right wrist was rather rough. "Lucy, what are these?" He asked as he examined the horizontal pink lines that stretched across her skin.

Lucy didn't say anything.

"Don't tell me you-"

"Cut?" She finished for him. "Yeah I do. And I don't need the lecture about how it's bad, I've heard it before."

"Believe me," Natsu said. "I know." He lifted up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal his own scars. Lucy ran her fingers over them, feeling how similar they were to hers.

"So we're bird of a feather, huh?" She asked, leaning into his side as she got colder.

"Yeah, I guess so." Natsu put his other arm around her front and held her against him. "Two of a kind."

::::

"I'm telling you, my house was just over this way." Natsu pulled Lucy along behind him.

"And I'm telling you we've been that way before." Lucy attempted to pull him the other way.

"Just come on," He sighed.

Reluctantly, Lucy followed him, lifting her knees up high to walk through the snow. "It's cold out here."

"Well, it _is_ the dead of winter." Natsu grumbled.

"I don't need your attitude," Lucy snapped back, realizing just how much she sounded like her mother.

Natsu grumbled something under his breath and Lucy pretended she didn't hear anything. They walked on in awkward silence, keeping a safe distance between them. Though Lucy was cold, she wasn't going to say anything more about it. Right then, she didn't really want his help, not that he would offer it.

"There." Natsu stopped and pointed forward, at a small, two story house. "I told you I knew where we were going."

"Whatever," Lucy sighed, and followed him into the house.

"Hello?" He called out. There wasn't an answer. "At least my folks don't seem to be home."

"Why is that a good thing?" Lucy asked.

"They can be a bit... misunderstanding... at times." Natsu looked down at the ground and bit his lower lip.

"I know all about misunderstanding parents." Lucy rolled her eyes as her thoughts wandered to her mother.

"I'll go make some tea." Natsu walked into the kitchen, flipping the living room light on the in process. Now that Lucy got a good look at it, it was more like a cabin than anything. Wooden walls outlined the perimeter of the room, and hardwood covered the floor. A few floral print couches sat in the center of the room, and she plopped herself down in the middle of one. A cloud of dust floated up around her. She coughed a bit, before scanning the room once again. Natsu's father must've hunted; guns lined the walls, along with stuffed heads of animals that had been killed. They all stared at Lucy, so she covered her eyes and escaped from there glare.

"Here." Natsu placed a mug of hot tea in front of her. "Do you want any sugar or milk or something?" He asked, sipping carefully on his cup.

"No, thank you." She sat stiffly, aware that she was now alone with a boy in an empty house, in an empty town. As she placed her drink back onto the coffee table, she noticed a calendar with Xs across several days. "Dead of winter, my ass." She grumbled.

"What?" Natsu asked, putting his tea down and turning his attention to her.

"This calendar says it's only September," Lucy explained. "There's no way it could be the dead of winter."

"We get snow nine months out of the year here." Natsu crossed his arms. "September being one of them."

"Oh."

After a long pause, Lucy piped up with the question. "Do you think there's a difference between dreams and reality?"

Natsu looked at the ceiling and thought for a moment defore saying, "I don't know, depends."

"On what?" She asked.

"Whether you believe there is or not," He said.

"Do you ever have those dreams that seem just accurate enough to be reality?" She pushed on, hoping to keep the conversation going.

"All the time." Natsu let out a small chuckle. "Too bad I only have nightmares."

Lucy moved closer and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"I can tell you aren't as happy as you come across as." She replied, hugging him tighter. "And I'm not letting go until I make you smile for real."

"Well be prepared to hold on forever." He mumbled.

"I don't think it'll be _that _long." Lucy shrugged against him. "Hey, Natsu," She looked up at him. "Are you ticklish?"

"Yeah, wh- No. No. Don't you _dare_." He tried to squirm out of her grasp, but she dug her fingers into his sides and began to tickle him. He let out a roaring laugh that was so loud it hurt Lucy's ear drums. She pushed him onto the couch until she was straddling him, then brushed her fingers over every area she could think of, especially his neck. "I give!" He called out. "I give! You win!"

Lucy sat back and rested her hands on his stomach. "Now, was that so hard?"

"Yeah." Natsu threw his head back and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"Now you have." She moved until she was sitting on the floor beside the couch. Hugging her knees loosely to her chest. "Do you know how to braid?"

"Somewhat, why?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"I can't sleep without my hair up."

"Why can't you do it?" He groaned.

"I don't want to."

"Fine," He sighed, and moved to where she was sitting in between his legs. "Do you want a normal braid or a French braid?"

"Normal's fine." She tossed her hair back over her shoulders and he started down it.

As he weaved, he asked her, "When was the last time you cut your hair?"

"When I was ten."

"How old are you now?" He continued.

"Sixteen."

"Damn," He said. "Six years worth of hair."

"I can't bear parting with it."

"Done." He tied it off with a rubber band that was laying on the end table.

"I'm going to sleep." Lucy pushed herself off the floor. "Do I just sleep on the couch?"

"Yeah," He said. "I'm gonna sleep in my room."

"Are you sure that's safe?" She asked. "After what happened in the hotel..."

"I feel like that's not going to happen again tonight." He tossed her a blanket. "Come on, it's probably like two in the morning. Go to sleep."

"Okay," She hesitantly laid herself across the cushions on the couch. "Can you leave a lamp on?"

"Lucy..." Natsu started. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

"No," She said weakly.

"Don't lie."

"Fine, okay, yes." She admitted.

"Why?"

"It reminds me that I can't rely on people." She sighed.

He furrowed his eyebrows and crinkled his nose. "How?"

"Because even my shadow leaves me in darkness," She whispered.

"Lucy." Natsu rubbed a hand up and down her arm. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Sleep in here with me?" She suggested.

He laughed. "Okay, fine." Sprawling out on the opposite couch, he reached for the chain on the lamp.

"Natsu?" Lucy said. "Leave the lamp on."

**~End of Chapter Four~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, Rivendell101, this is for you, just because I don't like messaging people:**

**You really hit the nail on the head. I got inspiration for this after finishing the Silent Hill game Shattered Memories and watch the movie Silent Hill Revelation. So, yeah(: Congratulations! You're, like, amazing! Have a free invisible cupcake. **

**Believe me, the cupcake IS there. **

_Chapter Five_

Lucy laid awake, staring at the ceiling. She listened to the sound of her and Natsu's breathing, which was slightly in sync. Her mind raced at a million miles a minute, and she did her best to calm it down. It was still dark outside, so Lucy looked out the window and began to count the stars. _One, two, three, four, five, six..._ She stared at them, dancing and twinkling in the sky. The moon was almost full, and she took note to remember that.

She was roused from her reverie when Natsu stirred on the couch beside her. "Hn?" He looked around, wondering what had woken him up. "Where am I?"

Lucy quickly pretended to be asleep, though it probably seemed restless. "Lucy," Natsu whispered. "Lucy, if you can hear me, I'll be right back."

Her heart sped up as she heard his retreating footsteps. Sleep got the best of her, though, and her eyelids weighed themselves down.

::::

Natsu awoke to the smell of eggs and bacon. Sizzling grease filled the air, and the aroma wafted itself into his nose. He shifted his feet to the floor and pushed himself off the couch. Padding into the kitchen, he saw Lucy at the stove, flipping a pancake.

"Morning, Natsu!" She said cheerfully.

"Morning," He grumbled as he sat himself at the granite bar.

"How to do you like your eggs?" She asked.

"Well done," He told her. "A little brown in places."

"Bacon?"

"Like tree bark."

"Would you like pancakes or waffles?" She questioned as she laid out the eggs and bacon on a plate.

"Waffles, please." He watched her closely. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, better than okay, actually." She drenched the waffles in syrup. "I hope you don't mind me cooking in here."

"By all means, go ahead."

"So, what's the plan for today?" She sat down across from him, with her own plate piled high with pancakes and bacon.

"What do you mean?" He asked through a mouthful of waffle.

"I mean, what are we going to look for? People? The police? A working car?"

"I don't know, just go the way the wind blows us, I guess. We find what we find." He placed his empty plate in the sink.

"You're very deep, you know that?" She carefully cut her pancakes. "And wash your plate."

"Whatever, _mother_," He teased.

"Can I go take a shower?" Lucy changed the subject.

"Yeah, upstairs," He said. "Second door on the right."

"Thank you."

Lucy made her way up the stairs, repeating "second door on the right" in her head. As she turned the door knob and flipped the light switch, she could see the room was painted a very light blue, almost white. Sea shells laid on shelves, along with small lighthouse statuettes. She looked around the room for towels, which she found hidden behind the toilet. When the water temperature was to her liking, she stripped down to her birthday suit and stepped in. The warm water cascaded down her body, undoing the chilling effects of the snow. She let it run through her hair, soaking it to the tips, before reaching out for a bottle of shampoo. As it bubbled and lathered on her head, she could smell the faint scent of strawberries.

A lightly used soap bar sat on the side of the tub, ready to be used. Lucy gathered it into her hands and rubbed it, beginning to clean the rest of her worn out body. She moved it up and down her arms and legs, sliding it over her stomach and breasts. Looking around for a razor, she soaped up under her arms. Nothing is more unattractive than hairy pits.

When she was done, she stepped out into the steam filled room, and wrapped herself in the fluffy towel. Lucy dried each of her limbs carefully, before stepping back into her clothes. After her hair was dried as best as she could get it, she hobbled down the stairs, where she found Natsu sitting on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "Finished." She sat down at the end of the same couch.

"Cool." He got off the cushion. "I'm gonna give it a go."

"'Kay," She agreed, then laid down and began to think.

Steam was still left in the shower when he got there, and he turned the heat up as high as it would go. As he stepped in, the water scalded him, but it felt good in a way. Natsu tilted his head back and wet down his face and hair, using his hands to brush through any tangles that might have been left. He didn't bother with shaving (he was a man, afte rall) and just concentrated on getting any dirt out of his hair and off his skin. When he picked up the soap, he noticed was still wet and slightly bubbly. Lucy must have used it. He rubbed it across his chest and under his arms, along with his feet and neck. This was clean enough for him.

His toes touched down on the plush bath mat, its little hairs filling the spaces between his toes. He reached for a towel behind the toilet and wrapped his lower half in it. Crossing the hall, he entered his rather bare room. The only things in it were his bed and his dresser. He opened the top drawer to grab a pair of fresh underwear, then opened the second to pull out a pair of sweatpants, and the third to pull out a sweatshirt. He quickly dressed himself, and shook his hair to get it (mostly) back to normal.

Natsu descended the stairs and moved to the living room to get Lucy so they could hurry on their way. Too bad she was asleep on the couch.

He smiled a little at the sight, her eyes closed and the corners of her mouth turned down in a small frown. Her feet dangled off the foot of the couch, and Natsu moved to tickle them. She didn't budge.

He moved down to her head, and whispered in her ear. "Lucy, it's time to go." Nothing. Her hand twitched and her eyes tightened. She let out a few strained noises, and Natsu tried even harder to wake her up. He shook her shoulders, splashed a cup of water on her face, even tried tickling her again. Looking down at her, he thought of something else. Dogs can wake people up by licking them, right? He gave it a go, dragging his tongue up her cheek. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open to look at him. Lucy reached her hand up and wipe her cheek.

"What the hell?" She asked. "Natsu, what are you doing?"

"You wouldn't wake up," He replied.

"Oh."

"Come on, we gotta go."

Lucy stood up, but her vision was gone as she got up too fast. Her feet swayed and she struggled to keep balance. As she fell, Natsu caught her from behind, wrapping his arms around her stomach. "You okay?" He asked, setting her upright. "Slow down."

"Yeah, yeah." She held her hand to her head to steady her eyes. "Alright, let's go."

"You sure?" Natsu looked at her.

"Yeah, I just stood up to fast," She said. "It's not like I had brain surgery."

"Okay." Natsu headed toward the door, tying on a pair of tennis shoes in the process. "You have everything you need, right? You can take anything here."

"I'm good," She replied, hobbling out the door behind him.

The snow had stopped falling, but it was still white as far as the eye could see. Lucy sniffed as her nose got used to the cold, and breathed out little white puffs of air. Natsu stood beside her, trying to decide which direction they were going to go in. He put all his hope on heading to his left, since they hadn't been that way. "There should be a gas station over here," He explained, looking over his shoulder at the girl behind him. The tip of her nose had turned a shade of red, and her cheeks were the color of his hair. "Are you sure you're okay?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine," She said, sniffing in a bit of mucus that had begun dripping out her nose. "Let's just hurry and get where we're going, I'm getting claustrophobic, even though we're outside."

"I know what you mean." He looked around at the white surrounding them on all sides. It _did _seem like they were trapped inside a white box.

Wordlessly, they began walking again, Lucy rubbing up and down her arms through the sleeves of Erza's jacket. "What do you think happened to Erza and Gray?" She asked.

"I don't know," He shoved his hands in his pocket and shrugged. "But I hope they're okay. And I sure as hell hope it doesn't happen to us."

"Yeah." Lucy looked at the ground. "I'm really worried about them."

"Don't be," Natsu cast a sidelong glance at her. "Erza and Gray are capable of taking care of themselves. You're a different matter."

"And _what _is that supposed to mean?" She placed her hands on her hips.

"Nothing," He sighed. "Just joking around."

After a short pause, Lucy said, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Trying to lighten the mood."

"It's what I do best." Natsu wrapped the hands around the back of his neck.

They walked in silence until the outline of a building etched into their view. "Come on." He began to run, his knees lifting high into the air to get out of the snow. Lucy watched his back as he hurried in front of her, and she tried her best to keep up. When they got under the cover of the roof of the gasoline pumps, she placed her hands on her knees and took deep breaths.

"Running in cold weather isn't good for your lungs," Natsu said, placing a hand on her back.

"Well, it's your fault." She straightened herself.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry."

"Is this place even open?" She asked, walking toward the building.

"I don't know." Natsu tried the door. It didn't budge.

"Damn it," Lucy sighed, sliding against the door and sitting in the snow.

"Lucy, get up." Natsu tried pulling on her arm.

"I don't wanna," She complained.

"Why?"

"Because we're lost and you obviously have no idea what's going on. We're gonna freeze and die out here." She buried her head in her knees. Her shoulders heaved up and down with every breath she took.

Natsu looked with sad eyes at the girl in front of him. He squatted in front of her and grabbed her hands. "Lucy, don't you dare give up. I'm going to get you out of here, I swear it."

"Natsu..." She looked at him, tears still spilling over.

"Hush." He pulled her against his chest, and she sobbed into it, grabbing the material of his shirt in her fists. He chuckled. "This is like the first time we met."

"What?" She croaked.

"The first time we met, in the burger joint, you did this."

"Oh yeah." She pulled back and wiped a tear from eye. "I think I'm even more terrified now than I was then."

"I can tell." Natsu stood up. "Move."

Lucy crawled out of the way, snow burning the skin on her knees and palms. In one swift motion, Natsu lifted his foot and broke the door in. "Where did you learn to do that?" Lucy asked, wide-eyed.

"My parents used to lock me out of the house," He said, pushing his way in.

It was eerily dark in the building, the racks were empty, nothing was on the counters. Natsu crawled behind the area where the cash register would be and flipped a light switch. Nothing happened. "Damn," He said under his breath.

"Well of course the damn lights don't work." Lucy slapped her hands down to her side and huffed. "It's just our luck."

"I guess we just keep going then," Natsu sighed and hopped back over beside Lucy. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Lucy sneezed.

"Maybe you shouldn't be out in the cold dressed like that."

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "I have on pants and a jacket."

"But it's also below freezing out there," He pointed out. "I'm freezing and I have on sweat clothes."

"I'm _fine_," She insisted. "Stop worrying so much about me."

Natsu grumbled a few words under his breath before leading her to the back of the store. "There's gotta be an employees only section." He pushed through a pair of gray double doors and held them open for the girl behind him.

"What do you expect to find anyway?" Lucy pondered. "It's gonna be like the rest of this goddammed town. Even if there's a back door, we'll end up exactly where we were a few minutes ago. This place is isolated."

"Something useful," He said, as an answer to her first question.

"Admit it," She stopped in her tracks. "We're _lost_."

"We are not lost!" Natsu argued. "I know exactly where we are! Divine Street, the street of the house I grew up in! We're in the convenient store half a mile down the road, where I would always get snacks before I went home from school!"

"But _where _are we? Why haven't we seen another human being? Why did that Mirajane girl act so mad? _Where _the hell _are _we?!" She screamed, curling up on the ground, tugging at the hair on her head. "I need scissors," She croaked.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"I need scissors," She repeated.

"O-okay, hold on," He scrambled around in the dark, looking for something, _anything. _Natsu pricked his finger on something. "Ouch," He muttered. "Here," He said, handing the thing to Lucy. "It's an X-Acto knife, not scissors."

"Thanks," She reached for the blade and pressed it to the skin on her wrist.

"No," Natsu said, trying to wrestle the thing away from her. "Not on my watch. I didn't know that's what you wanted it for."

"Please, Natsu," She begged. "Please, I need it!"

"No, Lucy!" He pinned her to the ground with one hand and held the knife above her with the other. "You're going to stop. I'm going to stop."

"But I don't want to stop!" She protested. "I like doing it! It's the only way I can calm myself."

Natsu thought for a moment. "Hit me," He finally said.

"What?" She asked, not sure if she heard him right.

"I _said_, 'hit me.'"

"No!" She cried, trying to pull away from him.

"Yes!" He held her down firmly. "You aren't going to keep doing this to yourself."

"Who are you to tell me what I will and will not do?" She asked.

"A person who's going through the exact same thing!" He yelled. "You aren't the only one with problems, not by a long shot. What we've been doing is cowardly, I see that now. Because we aren't facing what we don't like. We're letting it win. But I'm done." He threw the knife to the side. "You're done. From today on, it's going to lose."

"You really are deep," Lucy said, smiling. "Come on, lets go." She wriggled out from underneath him and held her hand out, waiting for him to grab it. He just sat there, looking at the ground. "Natsu?"

He looked up at her with sad eyes, then cast his glance toward the knife he threw. He moved quickly to grab it, but Lucy was quicker. She held it up above the boy on the floor. "Was that speech you gave for nothing?" She asked. "Get up, Natsu."

He slowly rose to his feet, swaying and rocking while doing so. Lucy steadied him by the shoulders. "I'm done crying, Natsu." She hugged him against her, he buried his eyes into her shoulder. "It's your turn."

He let it all out, everything he'd felt since they'd been there. From losing Gray, to losing Erza, to almost losing Lucy, to going home, to the nightmare he'd had. Everything. He lightly grabbed on to the back of Lucy's shirt and held on. Lucy rubbed his back as he sobbed, knowing how he felt.

When Natsu pulled back, his eyes were red and puffy. "You won't tell anyone about this?"

"Who's there to tell?" She smiled. "And what would I tell them?"

He smiled back at her, and they kept going, moving further and further back into the dark.

::::

Natsu hadn't said a word since the episode in the gas station. They were outside now, back in the snow. Lucy shivered, her teeth chattering. It was silent. There was nothing to see in any direction. They were walking blind.

"Natsu, this is weird," Lucy complained, then sneezed. "Can we go back to your house?"

"I would, Luce, but where exactly _is _'back?'" He looked around. "Who knows how many times we've changed direction?"

"So what you mean to say is," Lucy closed her eyes. "For all we know, we could've been walking in a circle for the past few hours."

"Yeah." Natsu smiled sheepishly.

"I guess it can't be helped," Lucy sighed. "I guess there's no more complaining from here on."

"Complain all you want," Natsu said. "I won't be the one listening, though."

"Oh, shut up!" She shoved him, and he fell back in the snow.

"Oh, so _that's _how you wanna play, huh?" He stood up and brushed some snow off the back of his pants. "Well bring it on!" He gathered a pile of snow into his hands and threw it at her, hitting her square between her eyes.

"Wow, good aim," She said. "But it didn't really _pack a punch!_" She threw a snowball back at him, using much more force. He cried out in pain.

"Damn, Lucy!" He held his forehead. "That hurt!"

"Are you okay?" She asked, taking a cautious step toward him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He tackled her to the ground, pinning her down by her shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," She breathed. "I knew you were going to do that."

"Pretty obvious, huh?" He smiled down at her.

"Well, duh!"

"What_ever_," He muttered, laughing. "We have to keep going. There's gotta be something out there, right?"

"Well, yeah," Lucy agreed. "But who knows how far?"

"I guess that's half the adventure," Natsu stood up and pulled her with him.

"What's the other half?" She dusted herself off.

"Staying alive."

Lucy looked at him, seeing if he was serious or not. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," He said, popping the p.

"Oh," She said as she finished. "Well, which way do you want to head?"

"Well, obviously that way," He pointed behind her, a huge smile spread across his face.

"What's the big deal?" She asked, turning around.

There, a few hundred meters away, was a car. It obviously hadn't been sitting long; only a few inches of snow covered the surface.

"Don't get excited, Natsu," She said. "We don't even know if it works."

"But there's a chance," He started running, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along behind him. "And that's a chance I'm willing to take."

So they ran. It was cold and it was hard, but they ran. Their lungs burned and they couldn't feel their feet, but they ran. They ran until they reached that car.

Natsu wrapped his frozen fingers around the handle and pulled. After a bit of ice cracked, it gave, giving entrance to the vehicle. He moved to sit inside, motioning for Lucy to get in through the passenger door. She did so quickly and looked over to him.

"Someone left their keys on the dashboard," He sand, twirling the key ring around his finger. Trying each key in the ignition, he almost screamed when he found the right one. The engine turned over and came to life with a roar.

"You did it," Lucy breathed. "You _actually _did it."

"Do you know what this means?" He asked.

"What?"

"We can get out of here." He pressed his foot to the gas and sped off into the snow. "We can be free of this nightmare."

**~End of Chapter Five~**


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

It was dark now. According to the clock in the car, it was almost eight. Lucy sat up straight in the passenger side of the car, looking at the snow in front of them. They had been on a stretch of road for about an hour, and so far the only thing they'd seen was trees.

"You can sleep if you want," Natsu turned to look at her, keeping one hand on the wheel. "The trip will go a lot quicker."

"I don't think I can sleep," She sighed, slouching down into her seat. "It's scary out here."

"We still have eleven hours until dawn, it's going to be dark for a while," Natsu kept trying to convince her. "I'll be quiet until I know you're not awake."

"No," She said. "Keep talking. It's even worse when it's quiet."

Natsu was silent for a moment. "What do you want me to say?"

"Anything, really," She curled up in fetal position and looked at him. "Got any stories from when you were a kid?"

"Yeah," He smiled. "Just one, though."

"Tell it," She said softly.

"Okay, so when I turned seven," He started. "My aunt bought be a kitten. It was plain white and scrawny and I didn't like it. But, it insisted on going with me everywhere I went, so I got attached to it. Even though I wasn't supposed to, I took that cat to school with me everyday. I named him Happy, because, even though I didn't necessarily like it, it made me happy. One day, Happy got out of my bookbag and started running down the hallways of the school. I went to look for him as soon as I noticed he was missing. I found him in the bathroom, blue and dripping wet. There was a bottle of hair dye in the sink, the one that people had dyed him with. He's still blue. In all honesty, he would probably be here with me right now, but I couldn't find him when I left the house."

"That wasn't a very good story," She teased.

"Never said it was."

"How old are you again?" She asked.

"Seventeen."

"What grade of school are you in?"

"Tenth."

"You should be in eleventh," She furrowed her eyebrows together.

"I got held back a year, because I failed P.E."

"How do you fail P.E.?" She questioned.

"By not going." The car turned with the road, as it bent into a different direction. "I hated that class. The coach looked like a fish, and his pants were never the right size. All we did was play volleyball."

"I used be on the volleyball team at my school," Lucy remembered. "They kicked me off for getting in fights with the other team."

"So somebody has a violent side to her, huh?" He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Give me a baseball bat, make me angry, then I'm unstoppable." She smiled back.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The car bumped as they went over a bridge, and Lucy closed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, stopping the car to look at her.

"I hate bridges."

So, Natsu pressed down hard on the gas, and the car sped off across the bridge. "It's over, Luce."

She opened her eyes and looked over at him. He flashed her a small half smile before starting the car on the road again. "Thank you."

"We can't have girls getting any more scared than they already are, can we?"

"Oh, hush."

Lucy crossed her arms as she continued to lay on her side, looking at her friend. His dark eyes were focused on the snow covered road, the curve of his light pink lips turned down in a small frown.

"Hey, I've been wondering," Natsu began. "If there's no snow on the roads, something must have come by to clear it, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lucy smiled and tucked her hands under her head. "But who knows if we're even going in the right direction?"

"One more thing," Natsu said as the car rolled to a stop. "We're out of gas."

Lucy sighed and stepped out of the car with him, wrapping her arms around herself. "It can't be helped."

"Sorry, Luce," Natsu started walking. "I know how happy you were to get away from here."

"Whatever, it's fine." She grumbled. "Cars run out of gas."

"You saw the gas prices in town, right?" Natsu turned to look at her. "$3.59. I could swear they were less than that."

"Who knows? I've never been to this godforsaken town." Lucy rubbed her arms and breathed out a large cloud of white air. "And I hope I never have to come here again." She started walking in the direction they were headed.

"Where are you going?" Natsu called after her. "There's probably nothing around here for miles!"

"It's better than sitting around waiting for a car that's never going to come!" She yelled over her shoulder. "And I'm going whether you do or not."

"Lucy, stop!" Natsu screamed at her as the road before her violently turned black and cracked under her feet. He watched as she remained her normal, pale color. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited to wake up in a daze, not sure where he was. He slowly lifted his eyelids to reveal a world even darker than the previous one. There was hardly any light, just that cast by the moon, which was barely visible. "Lucy?" Natsu called out quietly.

"Natsu?" She replied.

"Where are you?" He took a step toward her voice.

"I don't know, I can't see anything." Natsu kept walking toward her.

"Just keep talking." So, Lucy carried on with random words, as Natsu ever so quickly took steps toward her. As his fingers reached out and brushed her skin, she jumped back.

"Can't you at least _warn _me before you do that?" She hissed.

"Would you rather be lost out here in the dark, not knowing where the hell you are? I didn't _have _to call out to you, I could've just left you." Natsu scolded, before grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

Lucy was happy it was dark, because her face wasn't just red from the cold.

"I don't like this," Lucy whined. "It's too quiet. Something needs to be making noise."

"Even if it's the most terrifying thing on earth?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah," Lucy replied, after some thought.

Then, as if her prayers were answered, the sound of metal on metal started ringing. Faintly at first, but with each step they took, it got louder and louder. Lucy hid behind Natsu, placing her free hand on his shoulder and looking over it. There, in the light of a street lamp, laid Gray.

He was bloody and bruised, and seemed like he was going to pass out at any moment. "Come and get me, you filty bastard!" He cried out, as he hit the street lamp repeatedly with a metal pipe. "Gray!" Lucy tried to call out, but Natsu stopped her.

"Shh, it might be a trap." He spread his arm in front of her and stepped forward, dragging her closely behind him.

"Natsu..." Lucy cried, as they got closer and closer to the injured Gray.

"Shh," He hushed her, turning around and putting his finger to his lips. "Gray!" Natsu whispered. "Gray, look at us!"

Slowly, Gray's head turned to them, his eyes were dark and scared, but a faint smile curled on the corners of his cut lips. "Hey, guys!" He croaked. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Gray, come on, get up!" Natsu knelt down beside him and tried to get the boy's arm around his shoulder.

"No, you guys have to get out of here!" He protested, throwing his body back down to the ground. "You have to find Erza! She's in trouble!"

"Not without you!" Lucy cried, tears blurring her vision.

"You can find me after you make sure she's safe." Gray reached up to grab Lucy's hand. "Please. I promise I'll be alright."

"But what if you aren't?" Lucy screamed. "What if the next time we see you, you're hung up by your toes with your last words carved into your stomach? What then, Gray?"

"Lucy, calm down." Natsu said, pulling her closer to him. "If it's what he wants, then let it be."

"But, Natsu-"

"Hush," He cut her off. "Go to sleep, I'll handle things with Gray."

"You can't be serious!" She cried.

"I am." Natsu pushed her head down onto his shoulder. "Now shut up, and go to sleep."

Only, Lucy didn't sleep. Natsu knew she didn't. Gray knew she didn't. She listened to every word of the conversation, from what was happening, to the plan, to what they were gonna do if Gray didn't make it.

According to the beings that lived here, this was purgatory, the place between heaven and hell. Their main purpose was to decide which direction people were sent, they decided when it was time for people to die. Natsu and Erza were supposed to be taken first, and when Gray went in their stead, he was punished for denying the gods. Erza, who was taken soon after, was taken away to an assylum, where the people wait for their answer. Once a person is sentenced, you can't get them back.

"So what's our role in all this?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu, you were supposed to be one of the first ones gone," Gray repeated. "They'll be looking for you here. They don't know how you manage to escape, but they know it's dangerous that you can. Keep your guard up. I don't care _what _you have to do, protect Lucy and Erza."

"Of course," Natsu said. "So where's the assylum?"

"I don't know," Gray sighed. "This place changes everytime they bring you here."

"So what you're saying is, we have to wander around in an unknown place where people want us dead, to try and find a building full of dead people?" Natsu asked.

"Pretty much," Gray said. "You have to hurry."

"Okay," Natsu sighed. "Be careful, Gray."

"You too, Natsu."

With that, Lucy was on Natsu's back, and they were off. There wasn't really anything to see, just trees and old buildings. Some were labeled as what seemed like restaurants, others could've been anything.

"Natsu," Lucy muttered from his back. "There." She lifted up a finger and pointed to his right.

_Fogg's Assylum_.

"Great job, Luce!" He cried, before sprinting towards it.

"Natsu, slow down!" She exclaimed. "You're hurting me."

"Sorry," He said, skidding to a halt. "I'm just happy. And why can't you get off me?"

"My legs are numb," Lucy explained.

"Oh." Natsu started walking again, his hands tucked under the crooks of her knees.

"One more thing," She said, pushing herself higher on his back. Her lips pressed against the corner of his eye, since that was the closest she could get to his cheek.

"I'm not sure whether I should be worried or happy," Natsu said. "Why'd you do that?"

"I guess for two reasons," Lucy said. "As a thank you for taking care of me, and in case we don't make it back."

**~End of Chapter Six~**


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven _

It was dark inside the building, barely enough light to read the signs on the doors. The sound of dripping water hitting metal caught Lucy's attention as she clung close to Natsu's back. A dim light flickered ahead, one that burned with a gas flame.

"Have they never heard of electricity here?" Lucy asked, looking around at the rusted metal bars of cells.

"This _is _purgatory," Natsu said, hoisting her higher onto his back.

"Still, you'd think they would use a bit of electricity here, you know, one last use before you prosper in heaven or burn in hell," Lucy joked, sniffing the damp air around them. "And, God on high, what is that _smell_?"

"No electricity means no bathrooms, Luce," Natsu reminded her.

"That's sick." Lucy held back her vomit.

When they got under the light they looked at a sign on their right.

"_Cell 17: Blondes._"

Lucy gasped and reached her hand up to her hair, a bit too abruptly. She toppled off Natsu's back and landed hard on the ground, the sound of her fall echoing throughout the dark corridor. "_Shit!_" Natsu cried, before ripping her back up to her feet and running.

"We have to find the cell for redheads, Natsu!" Lucy tried to snatch her hand away from his, but his grip was too strong.

"We don't have time!" Natsu exclaimed. "Those, those,_ things_, probably heard you fall. There's no way they aren't after us!"

"Erza doesn't have time either!" Lucy yelled. "This could be the last stop before they decide. Then, she's gone forever!"

Natsu stopped and turned around, grabbing Lucy by the shoulders. "Listen to me, I'll go find Erza. You keep running. Don't you dare look back. Run until you're out of here, then wait for me outside."

"No," She protested. "I know this trick. You're sacrificing yourself so I can be free. I'm not having it! Gray used it on me, and you see where it got him, don't you? I'm not leaving you here, you're not leaving me to find my way to a town alone."

"Trust me," Natsu said.

"No." She shook her head and pulled Natsu along behind her as she started walking again. "I'm not trusting _anyone_ who asks me to leave them in some place we've never been before."

"Lucy..."

"Shut up," She said. "I don't want to hear it."

Natsu stared at the back of the girl in front of him. Who was she? Where was the terrified Lucy that agreed to anything? Her blonde hair bounced up and down on her shoulders, reflecting what little light they had. He could see her shoulder blades through the thin fabric of Erza's jacket as they alternated with each step she took. He could see the hem of her skirt showing just about the waistband of Gray's pants. He could see her black painted fingernails wrapped around the skin on his wrist, holding on as tightly as they could. He could see her trembling with fear, no matter what kind of front she put up.

So, Natsu stopped walking. He pulled his hand back, her fingers still wrapped around it. Her face was just inches from his, so close he could feel her hot breath. "Natsu?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"What?" Lucy cocked her head. "Natsu, what are you talking about, I'm Lu-"

"Who the hell are you?" He repeated. "Because this isn't the Lucy I know."

"Natsu," Lucy said. "Sometimes even the most cowardly people can put on a brave face."

"Tell me what's _really _going on," He commanded. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?" Lucy scoffed.

"Like you're not scared!" He yelled. "I can tell you're terrified, so why aren't you acting like it?"

"I already told you," Lucy said. "I'm not gonna trust someone who wanted me to leave them here."

Natsu stared at her as she turned back around and stalked down the hallway. "I could very easily turn around and walk away, you know."

"Yeah," Lucy shrugged. "But I also know you won't."

Natsu sighed and ran after her, shoving his hands to the inside of his sweatpants in an attempt to keep them warm. He softly whistled an eerie song as they marched through the corridors. Every once in a while, the screams of some lost soul would interrupt his tune, but would die down, and he started up again.

"This place is creepy as hell," Lucy said, looking side to side at the arms that reached through the bars of cells, almost long enough to grab onto Lucy's hair. Natsu was on the ready for if that happened, ready to break some limbs to stop them from touching her.

"Too bad some of these guys are never going to escape it." Natsu growled a hand that sprawled out in Lucy's hair ready to grab her and pull her back. The arm was heavily tattooed, and didn't at all heed the warning, instead, it tangled its fingers in her locks and pulled her back, a sharp cry escaping her mouth. Natsu sprung into action, gnawing on the arm of her attacker, throwing punches at it left and right. Nothing worked. The person repeatedly slammed Lucy against the cell door, and she screamed each time he did.

"Let. Her. Go!" Natsu screamed, giving a final kick the arm. It cowered away, leaving a distraught Lucy sitting against a wall, hugging her knees to her chest. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, leaving them red and puffy in their wake.

"Luce?" Natsu approached her carefully. "You okay?"

"That was terrifying," She said, reaching a hand behind her and against her back. Natsu fought off the hands that still reached for her as he ran his under her shirt and lifted it up. Already, it was swelling and darkening.

"This is _not _good," Natsu sighed, stripping off her jacket and shirt completely.

Lucy shrieked and covered herself and her bra. The bruise spread over most of her back and somewhat onto her sides. "I don't think doctors will believe this story if we take you to a hospital."

"Then don't," She said, turning her head slightly. "We don't want to cause more trouble than we're already in."

"Yeah," Natsu nodded. "Sorry, Lucy."

"It's okay."

He softly pressed his lips against her spine, and she let out a small whimper. Though it was just a story, Natsu believed kisses really did help things heal faster. When he was little, and when his mother was actually fond of him, she would always kiss his cuts and bruises every day until they healed. The habit had stuck, and when he and mama had drifted apart, he began to do it for himself. And for the spots he couldn't reach, he would kiss his hand and press it softly against the hurt skin.

"Let's go," He said, offering her his hand.

"Can I get dressed first?" She asked, holding out her hand for her clothes.

"Oh, yeah," He handed them to her, then turned around to give her a bit of privacy.

"Natsu," She asked as she slid her shirt back over her head. "What if we already passed the cell for redheads?"

"Then there would be no point in going back," He replied, shielding his eyes on both sides. "It wouldn't be any brighter."

He jumped as she popped up in front of him, and removed his hands from his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

They stood there for a moment, staring at each other. He noticed for the first time what color her eyes were, a light shade of brown, almost hazel, how full her lashes were, how rounded and small her nose was, how luscious and smooth-looking her lips were. There wasn't a flaw on her face, not a zit or blackhead to be seen. Of course, that went for him too.

Lucy was first to break the silence. "We should get going." She dropped his hands and strode off, him following closely behind.

"Y-yeah," He stuttered.

The sound of water on metal was closer now, and Lucy wondered what it could be if there wasn't running water here. As the traveled farther, the noise seemed to tease them, it would fade, and then it would be so loud it was like it was right beside them. Eventually, Lucy just gave up on trying to learn what it was, and began to ignore it. Gradually, it faded into the distance, becoming the only noise that intruded the silence.

"How far does this place go on?" Natsu asked, rubbing his eyes. "I'm getting really tired."

"It's probably endless." Lucy replied. "Although you can only have so many hair colors."

"Maybe they have dorms for the things that live here," Natsu suggested.

"Maybe," Lucy sighed, wishing just as hard as him that this place would end.

Up ahead, a blue light glowed, arousing suspicion inside the blonde girl. "Natsu, what's that?" She whispered, pinning herself against a wall. She didn't know what was over there. If something heard her, they would be goners.

"I don't know," Natsu said, pressing himself beside her, so close the inner halves of their bodies touched. On instinct, Lucy grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it tight, interlocking their fingers. He looked down at it, his heart beating out of his chest.

Lucy breathed in and out a few times before dashing off, dragging Natsu behind her. "Lucy, what the hell are you doing?" He whisper-screamed at her.

"Trying to save our asses." She crouched down, and began to walk. "Follow me."

The closer they got to the light, the faster his heart sped up. Lucy seemed to be having the time of her life, but he was worried out of his mind. After all, curiosity killed the cat. That took his thoughts back to Happy, he wondered if his friend was still safe. Wherever his parents went, was he with them? Natsu could only hope.

"Natsu!" Lucy snapped, catching his attention. "Look." He followed her finger to fix his gaze on a large, glowing blue test tube. "There's something in it." She crawled closer.

"Lucy, wait!" Natsu called after her, realizing they were no longer holding hands. She held a finger up to her lips to silence him as she crouched in front of the large container. Her look of wonder and curiosity quickly changed to one of fear.

"N-Natsu," She stammered, ushering him to get closer to her. When he was at her side, she latched onto his hand once more and buried her face in his shoulder.

Natsu looked up, amazed and terrified at what he saw. There, in the large tank, floating, was Erza.

Lucy bit onto the fabric of his shirt to keep from screaming. Erza's eyes were closed, but her mouth was twisted and contorted into a mixture of a scream and smile. Natsu reached a hand up to cover Lucy's eyes as he looked farther down the row.

A few tanks down, floated Gray. His eyes were open, his mouth hardened into a straight line. In between their two tanks, were two more. The engraving on the stone tablets terrified Natsu the most.

"_NATSU DRAGNEEL." "LUCY HEARTFILIA._"

"Oh, shit," Natsu said, tugging Lucy to her feet and bolting back the way they came. "We gotta get outta here!"

"Natsu, what did you see?" Lucy asked from behind him as he dragged her along.

Natsu stayed silent, not wanting to scare her.

"Natsu, _what _did you see?" She repeated herself, terror rising in her throat.

"Gray," Natsu said. "They got him."

Lucy averted her eyes to the ground, remembering how they left him there, shivering on the side of the street. "What else, Natsu?"

He hesitated, before saying, "The tanks where they plan on putting me and you." Lucy gasped from behind him and looked over her shoulder, watching the tanks of Gray and Erza slowly shrinking into the distance.

"Hey, Natsu?" The pitch of Lucy's voice rose. "What if that wasn't really Gray outside?"

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, pinning the two of them against a wall as he looked around a corner. His arms were pinned on either side of her head, their torsos pressed together as he very carefully peered over the edge of the wall.

"I mean," Lucy took a deep breath. "What if it was a trap?"

Natsu looked at her with wide eyes as realization struck him. His lips opened as if to speak, but no sound came out. Quickly, his dark eyes darted from side to side. "Then I guess we really need to high-tail it out of here."

Peeking around the corner once more, he rounded it, staying pressed against the wall. Lucy followed closely behind him, latched onto his forearm. This hallway was pitch black, and they were either really safe here, or their luck was even worse. Natsu's hand probed the wall in front of them, moving in large, sweeping motions. Every so often, they'd run out of wall as a new corner appeared, and their only option was to take it. As far as they new, they hadn't been going in circles, because they hadn't seen a smidge of the blue light.

Their feet shuffled quickly against the ratty baseboards of the hallway, almost silent. Every once in a while, the sole of Natsu's Converses would squeak as it stepped out of a puddle of water, and every time, Lucy would jump a foot in the air. Natsu would've laughed at her cowardice, if it wasn't so creepy in there. With each step they took, it seemed to grow colder and colder. Lucy could feel the freezing air burning her lungs, and every so often, she would throw a small coughing fit, only to be immediately hushed by the boy in front of her.

"Natsu," Lucy whined. "I wanna get out of here."

"I know," He said, grabbing her hand and giving it a small squeeze. "I have a feeling we'll be out soon."

Lucy huffed and followed him tiredly, keeping steady with the pace they had set before. It grew colder still, and she huddled closer to the warm body in front of her. "I told you to get some clothes at my house," He sang.

"Yeah, yeah," She snapped. "I know."

The rest of the trip was made in silence, Lucy only squealing when absolutely necessary, and Natsu hushing her each time. Gradually, the tunnel began to lighten, very subtle at first, then growing to where it was almost blinding after being in the dark for so long.

Natsu turned around and flashed Lucy a wide grin, pulling on her to get her to move faster. They sprinted to an old, rusted metal door, throwing themselves against the handle and shoving their way outside into the snow. It daytime outside now, and as far as either of them could tell, they were out of purgatory. Lucy fell down into the snow, rolling and laughing, happy to be out in the open again.

It was still white as far as the eye could see, but there was some much different about it. Everything felt a lot closer, much less distant, to him. He reached out his hand and brushed nothing but air, but he couldn't help this lingering feeling they were close to everything.

"Natsu," Lucy sat up in the snow. "What's the matter?"

He looked down at her, snowflakes dotting her hair and eyelashes. Her cheeks and nose had turned a bright red, but her lips were turning slightly blue around the edges. "Nothing," He replied, shaking his head to clear the thoughts. "Nothing at all."

"Come on!" Lucy cried, standing up and dusting off the back of her pants. "Let's relax and play a little!"

Natsu sighed and gathered a lump of snow in his hands, packing it tightly. Then, instead of throwing it, he raised it up to his mouth and bit a huge chunk out.

Lucy looked at him, then did the same thing. "Good idea," She stated. "Don't want to get dehydrated."

He smiled at her, before throwing the remains of his snowball at her. "Gotcha!"

"Saw it coming!" She said, throwing hers at him, hitting him square in the neck.

"You have really good aim, you know that, right?" He asked, rubbing his freezing skin.

"Actually, I was aiming for your mouth." She reached a hand up and shyly scratched the back of her head, then she plopped down into the snow and moved her arms and legs back and forth. "Natsu, help me up." She held out her hand, and he grabbed it, yanking her from her spot in the cold. She crashed straight into his chest, her nose hitting his collarbone. "Ouch," She moaned, massaging it.

"You okay?" Natsu asked, chuckling. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away. "Let me see."

She twitched it a bit, then sneezed. "I think I'm allergic to you."

"That sucks," He said, smiling. "Now you can't get within ten feet of me, peasant. Step aside." He playfully shoved her back a little bit. She stumbled but didn't fall, considering he was still holding onto her after helping her up earlier.

Lucy started to spin in circles, dragging him along behind her. She laughed at the surprised look on his face when he fell into the snow. Raising her index finger to her bottom eyelid, she stuck out her toungue.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," He stood up and dusted himself off. "Your turn!" He ran full speed ahead and tackled her to the ground, a cloud of snow flying up around them. He pinned her forearms down on either side of her head, using too much force for her to counter. Wrapping his own legs around hers, she let out a whimper of pain. "What's wrong?" He cocked his head to the side as he looked at her.

"My back," She muttered.

"Oh, shit!" He scrambled off of her and sat her up. "I'm sorry, Luce, I forgot!"

"No, no, it's alright," She said, adjusting her position to where she was sitting beside him. "The cold felt kinda good, actually."

"Oh, then do I need to do it again?" He asked, a hint of evil showing in his eyes.

"Meh," She said, flopping back down on the ground.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He raised an eyebrow and laid down beside her.

"Meh."

He laughed and poked her in the side with his elbow. "Just try not to go numb. I don't think my back can take much more of that torture."

"You calling me fat?" She tried to ask seriously, but came out between giggles.

"Nah," He shook his head and rolled onto his side to face her. "It's your boobs."

"_What?_" She screeched, laughing and grabbing her chest. "What's wrong with them?"

"They're like twin bowling balls or something." He flicked one with his middle finger. "It has to hurt carrying them around all day."

"Shut _up,_" She cried, pushing on his shoulder so he was laying on his back again. "You suck."

"Define 'suck'."

"No need to be a smart ass," Lucy laughed, splashing snow at him like water.

"Yeah, yeah." He blew a piece of hair up that had fallen down onto the bridge of his nose. "So, what now?"

"I'm tired," Lucy yawned. "Can we find some place to sleep?"

"Sure," He sighed, standing up and wiping himself off. "First we have to find out where we are."

"Probably the middle of nowhere."

"Good observation." Natsu nodded and looked around. "There's not much here to work with. Maybe we could build an igloo?"

"And if it collapses on us in the middle of the night?" Lucy raised her eyebrows. "We'd be dead by morning."

"Good point." He rubbed his chin. "Burrow?"

"Do I _look _like a rabbit to you?"

"_Well._.."

"Oh, just _shut up_!" Lucy put her hands on her hips. "This is hopeless."

"Don't give up," Natsu said. "Let's walk a bit."

"Yeah," Lucy took a deep breath. "Let's."

**~End of Chapter Seven~**

**Yeah, I know, sucky ending. Sorry. Um, so funny story:**

**Last week, I bought a fish. Thinking it was a boy, I named it Natsu because it looks like a flame. Yeah, "Natsu" gave birth to ten little babies two days later. Natsu's name is now Lucy and I'm a fish breeder. **

**Welcome fishes, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Happy, Charla, Pantherlily, Jellal, Wendy, Mira, and Link (because, yeah, I like the Legend of Zelda.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. As I type this, I am in the middle of the ocean on vacation, without wifi. So, unless you want this author to go bankrupt on wifi expenses from the ship, a little bit of waiting was in order. I'm so sorry it took so long, and this chapter is so short and skimpy, but I really am busy, even if I am on vacation.**

_Chapter Eight_

"Natsu, I'm cold."

"Natsu, I'm hungry."

"Natsu, I'm tired."

"Natsu, can you carry me?"

"Natsu, my feet are numb."

"Natsu, Natsu, Natsu."

"For God's sake woman," Natsu turned around and yelled at Lucy. "Can you stop complaining for two seconds?"

Lucy stared at him with her large, round doe eyes, before shoving her hands into the pockets of Gray's pants. They carried on, and not a single word was passed between the two. Lucy kept her eyes on Natsu's heels as they took steps in front of her, and she was very careful to step in his tracks.

Natsu grumbled words underneath his breath as he walked, being sure that Lucy couldn't hear him, not that she was listening anyway. She was lost in her own thoughts, like where her family was and where she and Natsu were. Natsu looked around to see if there was any sign of life anywhere around them.

"Rain?" Lucy asked, holding out her hand.

Natsu turned around and looked at his with furrowed eyebrows, then held out his own hand as a drop of rain landed on his nose. "That's odd. If it's September, it should still be snowing."

Lucy looked up to the smokey, gray sky and sighed. "Maybe it's just a few degrees above freezing."

"Impossible," Natsu argued, confusion darting back forth between his dark eyes. "It never gets above twenty** (A/N: In Fahreinheit)** here in the winter."

"Well there can be freak weather sometimes," Lucy said, wishing what she had told him was at least the slightest bit true.

"Yeah," Natsu muttered, turning back around and stomping through the undisturbed terrain of God-Knows-Where.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, speeding up and placing her freezing hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He took deep breath before turning around and taking her hand in his, her heart skipping a beat at the touch. "Luce," He started. "I probably should've told you this earlier, but my parents _never _change the calender. For all we know, it could be the middle of June."

"The weather here is always this terrible?" Lucy asked, ignoring what he said.

"You're not worried about what day it is or anything?" He was confused, folding his eyebrows together until they creased his bright red forehead.

"Natsu, I saw the year on the calender," She said. "It said two thousand ten. It's two thousand thirteen."

"Oh," Natsu murmured. "You could've said that."

"You didn't ask," Lucy retorted, crossing her arms and blowing a tuft of hair out of her face.

"I shouldn't have to!" He exclaimed, dropping her hand and turning back around, continuing forward.

Lucy followed him, staring at the back of his sweatshirt. Even through the thick material she could see the muscles and knots in his back grinding as he walked. The way his shoulder blades alternated with each step he took. The rise and fall of his torso as he breathed.

She caught her face heating up as he turned around to look at her with those solemn eyes of his. "You okay, Luce?" He asked, stopping and waiting for her to catch up.

"I'm the one who should be asking you that." She smiled at him, keeping her lips tight together.

"Why do you say that?" He pondered, falling in step beside her.

"Your back and shoulders are extremely tense." Lucy said, placing her hand on one and giving it a squeeze. "You should relax."

"I can't relax," He sighed, shaking his head and giving a soft chuckle.

"Why?" Lucy cocked her head to the side, her tousled blonde hair falling over her shoulder.

"I have to take care of you." Natsu mimicked her actions and squeezed her shoulder.

"I'm not some damsel in distress, you know," Lucy laughed. "I can do _some _things by myself."

"You might as well be," Natsu guffawed. "Because my pride wouldn't be able to take that hit."

Lucy cracked up, holding onto her stomach and gasping for breath. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and it wasn't long before they were trailing down her face.

When the rain hit, it was hard to tell where her teardrops ended and the precipitation began.

It wasn't long before they were soaked to the bone, Natsu more so than Lucy. "Don't you think we should find some place to stay?" He called out over the roaring of the storm.

"Aw, come on, Natsu!" Lucy giggled, grabbing his hands and spinnging around. "Enjoy yourself!"

"Luce, you'll get sick," He whined, yanking his hands back and shoving her in front of him. "I thought I saw something over this way!"

Sure enough, after a few seconds of walking, the outline of a short, stout building came into view. "Come on!" Natsu cried, pulling her closely behind him.

They stood in front of the structure, shielding their eyes from the falling water.

_Magnolia Police Department: MPD._

"Natsu..." Lucy said, disbelievingly.

"We did it, Luce!" Natsu grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up, spinning her in circles. She braced her hands against his shoulders and he pressed his face into her side. He slowly set her down, lowering her inch by inch, until they were face to face. She smiled, and he returned the favor. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against hers, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "We did it."

"Yeah." Lucy bit her lips before pulling away and pushing herself into the building. A bell rang above their heads as they stepped over the threshold. "Hello?" She called out, walking up to the counter.

A woman emerged from a door in the back. Her hair was short and blue, the length reaching down her neck. "What can I do you for?" She asked, leaning on the counter and looking up at them with tired eyes. "I'm Levy, by the way."

"I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia," The blonde girl laid her hand on her chest as she spoke, then gestured back to her friend, who was still dawdling by the door. "And that's Natsu, Natsu..." She paused as she thought for a moment. Had he ever told her his last name, or did she forget?

"Dragneel," He said, intervening.

"I was wondering if you could look up Jude and Layla Heartfilia, they're my parents." Lucy smiled. "I haven't been able to get in touch with them."

"What?" Levy asked, her eyes brightening. "Have you two eloped? Lord knows why you would come to this godforsaken town, but it's still romantic!"

Both of them blushed at the woman's comment, trying to stutter out denials. "I-i-i-i-it's n-n-n-n-not like that!" Lucy stammered, tripping over her own words. "I-I-I-I r-ran away from h-home and m-m-met N-Natsu, here."

"So you aren't getting secretly married?" Levy frowned. "Damn."

"Anyway, can you look them up?" Natsu asked, firmly placing his hands on the table. "We're _kind of _in a hurry."

"I don't know what you'd be in a hurry for," She said, pulling a pen and paper from under the table. "There's not much around here. Most of the ramshackles of buildings have been torn down. What were those names again, sweetie?"

"Jude and Layla Heartfilia," Lucy repeated. "And why are most of the buildings torn down?"

"This whole place is scheduled for flooding in a month or two. Every body evacuated a while ago," Levy explained, scribbling down the names and booting up an old dinosaur of a computer. "It's going to take a while for the records to come in, maybe even a few weeks."

"That's fine," Lucy said, before turning to pull Natsu out the door.

"I don't know where you plan on staying," Levy stopped them. "As I said, there's nothing around for miles."

"_Great_," Lucy sighed, sliding against the hard concrete wall. "You don't suppose we could stay here, do you?"

"There's a few rooms upstairs for when we're holding people overnight," The young woman explained. "You're welcome to use them."

"Got any candles or something?" Natsu asked, remembering Lucy's fear of the dark.

"Here's a lantern," She hauled a large light onto the table. "It doesn't get very bright, though."

"That's fine." The veins in his arm popped out as he tensed them to grab it . "Come on, Luce."

She followed him up a set of stairs in the back of the room, watching as he used both arms to heave the light up the stairs. A soft smile spread across her lips as she thought of everything he'd done for her over the course of their friendship **(A/N: OOOOOOH FRIENDZONE)**, and how often he'd done things _just _for her.

"Here," He said as he pushed open a heavy, metal slab of a door. "Sleep in there. I'll be right next door." Before turning around, he placed the latern onto the floor. "So you don't get scared of the dark."

Lucy allowed her self to smile, before closing the door behind him, keeping her fingers lingering on the frame for a moment. Then, she stripped down to her shirt and Gray's pants, before crawling under the soft, clean white sheets on top of the firm mattress. It squeaked as she laid down. She closed her eyes, but her mind raced with all kinds of different thoughts, making her head spin.

Giving up on sleeping at the moment, she exited her room and knocked on the door to the one Natsu was supposed to stay in.

"Come in," She heard from the other side of the door. When she opened it, he was sitting on his bed, shirtless, gazing out the window, which was barred with iron. Stars speckled the sky, glistening and dancing in front of the black painted backdrop.

"It really _is _pretty," Lucy said, taking a seat beside him, the mattress dipping down under her weight. "You never see stars like that where I'm from, what with all the city lights."

"I would look at them every night, go up on the roof, lay on back, maybe take a snack or two," He snickered. "I'd give anything to do that right now."

Lucy turned her head to look at him, his glossy eyes still staring out the window. It was quiet for the most part, except for the sound of a few coyotes howling in the distance. Without thinking, she stretched her fingers out across his, intertwining them from behind.

She took a deep breath, before shakily saying, "Let's do it."

Natsu looked at her with wide eyes, his lips twitching as they tried to figure out what to say. "_It_? Like, right here, in the police station?"

"Yeah," Lucy smiled, assuring him it was a good idea.

"Well, I've never done it before, but..." He trailed off as he saw the look of confusion dancing across her face.

"You just said you used to do it every night," Lucy reminded him, putting one of her eyebrows down.

"Oh, you meant _stargazing_?" Natsu asked, a cherry red blush spreading across his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess we could do that."

"What did you think I meant?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms and pressing her tongue to the inside of her cheek.

"Oh, nothing," He sang, before pulling her up to her feet, and hopping out the door.

It took a bit of wandering before they found the roof of the station. Their loud footsteps echoed off the stairwell as they climbed higher and higher, eventually breaking out into the starlit night. The ground was still wet from the rain from before, but hardly a cloud dotted the sky now. Lucy laid down, her breath stolen away from her in that instant. "You see why I liked it so much?" He asked, laying down beside her.

"Yeah." Lucy breathed in the fresh-after-rain-late-night-air smell, calming down and relaxing herself.

"Over there are the twelve Chinese Zodiac," Natsu raised his finger, and Lucy followed it with her eyes, before they settled on a cluster of stars. "I can only tell because of the rabbit, though."

"The only thing I can ever spot is the big dipper." Her eyes searched the sky, looking for the familiar shape. "But I must be too far from home."

"There's Hercules," Natsu said, pointing in a different direction.

"Where?"

"Come here." Lucy scooted closer to him as he formed her hand into a fist with just the index finger sticking out, guiding her arm across the sky until it rested on the constellation.

"I still don't see it." Her heart raced at the feeling of his hand on hers.

"Really?" So, he traced the outline of it with her finger, and she sat there, in his grasp, trying so hard to understand.

"I _think _I see it now."

"Maybe stargazing isn't your thing," Natsu stood up and offered her his hand. "Come on, lets go inside, before we get sick."

Reluctantly, Lucy followed him back to his room, sat on his bed and looked at the ceiling. "This is _my _room, you know," Natsu snorted.

"Yeah, but I don't feel like going back to mine right now." Lucy flopped onto her back and closed her eyes, her tangled hair sprawled out around her head.

"Fine," Natsu said, then laid his back against the wall and rested his elbows on his propped up knees. "So what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," Lucy joked.

"How's your arm?" He asked, moving towards her on all fours.

"Better." She smiled a wide, forced grin. "Yours?"

"Better."

Natsu sat there, staring at Lucy, while she stared back. "It's interesting, Luce."

"What is?" She asked, pushing herself up onto her elbows.

"The fact that a few hours ago, we were scared out of our minds, but here we are, talking like normal friends now." Natsu laid down beside the bed until just his eyes were visible over the edge of the mattress, much like a hippo in water.

"I wouldn't call this _normal _conversation," Lucy replied, shifting her position until she was on the other side of the bed and their eyes were at equal height. "Especially when we're both acting like seven year olds." She stuck her feet in the space between the bed and the floor, and screamed when her feet touched something.

Natsu fell back onto the ground, laughing his ass off and holding his stomach.

"That's not funny!" Lucy cried, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"What are you talking about?" He bellowed. "That was hilarious!"

"I'm going to bed, Natsu," Lucy angrily got up and moved toward the door.

Natsu stood up and hastily moved in front of her, blocking the way out with his arm. "Aw, Luce, I'm sorry, I didn't know you would do it, too."

"Whatever," She grumbled. "I'm tired. Let me out."

"What's the magic word?" He asked playfully.

"Move," She snapped, before chopping his arm down and pushing the door open.

When she got into her room, she crawled up under the covers, not even turning the latern on, and covered her head until she was just a white lump. It had to be close to midnight, and sleep very quickly took over.

Only to have her wake up a couple of hours later.

The only things in her dreams were memories of Natsu and her. Every time she thought they were over, they would start up again. From waking up that first time to find him dragging her, to when she woke up to find him crying on her stomach outside of the hotel, to the night they spent at his house, even earlier when they had been stargazing.

And that got her thinking.

There was something about him. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe it was the inexhaustible charm of his glances; his glossy eyes, like liquid seduction, which injected themselves into her veins and made every nerve stand on edge.

_That was it. _The way he made every nerve stand on edge, like soldiers in line for battle; he made her heart race faster than she thought was possible... The way she wanted him, or rather, the way her logical brain refused every idea of the two of them together, but every other part of her cried out for his touch until her mind was full of images of them in moonlit positions, gasping for breath.

He had an effect on her. Too much of an effect. She wasn't used to men having such power over her. Normally they were just... _there_. She didn't have to think about them; other men were easy to control. They were well trained dogs, waiting for their master to return. But he was different. He was taking over her, hijacking every blood cell, every gasp of breath. Every thought.

She wanted him. Her pulse ached for his fingers to trace the outline of her silhouette. Her lips pleaded for his teeth on them. Her body longed to be pulled to his, to be pressed against the heat of his chest. She wanted him to explore her.

She shook her head in frustration, tried to stop herself from thinking about him. She was being stupid, illogical; letting one man infuse every particle of her being with himself. Letting him take control of her with just so much as one glance.

She lay back down in bed, tossing and turning, trying to fall back to sleep. But part of her didn't want to, because she knew too well what she would find in her dreams.

**~End of Chapter Eight~**

**Well, that last part got a bit... descriptive:3**

**Hope you enjoyed, please review and favorite and stuffs. **

**Any requests can be sent to me at:**

**-My Inbox on FanFiction**

**-My FanFiction E-Mail : catherinecassadee at gmail . com**

**(I can't do the at symbol on here; this is a pen name, it is completely safe.)**

**-In the Reviews**

**Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Just to let you know, it's taken me almost three weeks to write this chapter, because I have severe writer's block. I know what I want to happen, I just don't know how to get there or put it into words. So, yeah, enjoy this chapter, which, in my opinion, is pretty cruddy.**

**One more thing, and I probably should've said this earlier, but I'm sorry that the chapter lengths aren't very consistent. I don't have word count on this crappy little laptop of mine, so I sort of just go with gut instinct. **

**Okay, I lied, one more thing. I don't know if I've explained my uploading proccess, but it's pretty extensive, which is why I only upload once a week. First, I have to connect my jackass of a computer to our wi-fi, which takes about ten tries, because this thing sucks. And then, I have about ten minutes to open my extremely slow internet and log onto my email so I can send the chapter to myself. Then, I have to get on the family computer and open my email, retrieve the file, and upload it onto Fanfiction. After that, I have to completely delete it from my family computer, because if my parents or my sister read it, I would absolutely die.**

**Anyhoodles, enjoy this pretty lame chapter. **

**(:**

_Chapter Nine_

Natsu laid awake in bed, his mind racing at a million miles a minute. He was thinking extremely hard, something he wasn't used to doing. How could his parents have left and not told him anything? Not even bothered to take him with them? How did all those buildings disappear in the space of a few days? Why were Gray and Erza being held captive in that hell hole of a place?

He immediately regretted his decision of having Lucy sleep in a different room, because he wouldn't be there to save her if those things came after her while she was happily dreaming (**A/N: Dreaming happier than you know, Natsu *wink, wink***). It was probably too late now, she had probably already dozed off.

So, he laid there, staring at the ceiling and watching as the areas in his field of vision grew darker and darker, then he would blink and everything would go back to normal. He thought about how bad he felt for losing the other two people wo were in the same situation, he thought about how he missed his cat, he thought about how tired he was.

But he couldn't sleep.

Because he was also thinking about how he felt about Lucy.

There was something different about her than other girls. Maybe it was the fact that she could put on a brave face if needed, or maybe the fact that she treated him like a normal guy. Whatever it was, he decided, he loved it.

::::

Lucy woke to the bright, white, morning light filtering through the window. She could see small dust motes floating in it, swimming in thin air. She stretched her arms above her head and let out a huge groan, and somewhere along the way she realized just how bad she actually smelled.

So she decided to take a shower.

Surely, there had to be a bathroom somewhere in this building.

Her feet padded about the cement hallways, making small slapping sounds with each step. She pulled her hand through her tangled locks and tried to work through them, so the water wouldn't worsen them.

"Achoo!" Lucy squeaked, covering her nose with her arm. "Maybe we _shouldn't_ have stayed out last night." She shrugged it off and continued walking, turning her head from left to right.

A flicker of movement caught her eye, though it was only out of the corner. She pivoted her head, looking in the direction of the image. She could hear footsteps pounding farther and farther down the hallway, along with the sound of a child laughing.

"Hello?" She called out, taking a step toward the sounds. **(Oh, Lucy, don't you know you never go toward children's laughter?)**

She was answered with only more laughter. Cautiously, she took more steps, placing one foot in front of the other. Poking her head around the corner, she nearly screamed.

Black slowly crept toward her, much more slowly than it previously had.

Lucy ran.

She ran toward the hallway where their rooms were, but she couldn't remember how to get there. Standing on her faith, she pressed on.

"Natsu!" She called out. "Natsu! Where are you?"

The darkness bit at her heels, and she picked up speed. Her legs started to burn, as did her lungs, but her heart raced like she wanted to.

::::

"Natsu!"

He shot up in bed, his pink hair cowlicked and disheveled. Yawning, he stretched his arms over his head and popped his knuckles. He wasn't sure whether Lucy screaming his name had been in his dreams **(What would those dreams be about, Natsu? *wink*)**, or whether it had been in the conscious world.

Shuffling toward, the door, he scratched his head and yawned once more. "Lucy?" He called out groggily.

"Natsu! Where are you?"

His eyes shot open, his throat forming the sound of her name.

But nothing came out.

As he reached his hands up to his throat, time stopped. Everything paused. Nothing moved.

::::

It was dark - bare and dark. Lucy didn't like it. There wasn't a sound being made, and she planned on keeping it that way. Her heart beat out of her chest, so loud she was afraid it echoed. Cautiously, she took a step, placing her foot down softly. It hardly made any noise, but in her mind it sounded like a thousand panes of glass shattering at once.

She swallowed and closed her eyes, slowing down her rapid breathing. She took another step. Opening her eyes was not an easy task, definitely one that required a lot of effort.

In the space between those two steps, she had devised a very simple plan: find Natsu, get to Fogg's Asylum, and free Gray and Erza.

Lucy squinted her eyes and began to run. Her feet pounded on the ground below, and it sent a shocking jolt of pain up with each step. She repeated the plan over to herself as she looked down hallways. One thing was for sure, she didn't remember the police station being this big.

There were no sounds. Only the sound of her short, gasping breaths.

Up ahead, a blue light glowed.

::::

Where was he? Which way was up? which way was down? His head spun, making him feel dizzy and lightheaded. He couldn't open his eyes. It was warm, almost wet. His entire body was numb - or at least, he could feel everywhere, but he couldn't feel the limbs themselves. It was quiet, or at least, it felt that way. For all he knew, he could be standing alone in the loudest room.

Then, there was a loud, muffled _bang_, almost like a gunshot.

Again.

One more time.

He tried once again to open his eyes, but it didn't work.

His mouth tried to form a sentence, but only one word came out:

"Lucy."

::::

Slowly, Lucy crept toward the familiar iridescent blue light. Her heart beat out of her chest, so loud she was afraid they could hear it back in the real world.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she ran forward, toward the oh-so-terrifying forms of Gray and Erza.

She looked at Erza, her red hair floating around her head like a halo. Pieces trailed down to cover her bare breasts, reaching almost down to her flat stomach. "Erza," Lucy whispered, placing her head on the glass. Tears formed in the corner as she looked farther down Erza's body, to her legs, which were slowly blackening.

It reached up to her knees, and it almost looked like stone.

It took every muscle in her body not to scream. "Erza," She whispered, pressing her fingers against the container. "We'll get you out, I swear."

She looked farther down the row, towards Gray.

When something else caught her eye.

Reaching her hand up, she covered her mouth, trying to keep it shut. No matter, tears ran freely down her cheeks, leaving a wet trail in their wake.

"Natsu," She sighed, walking to the tank beside Erza's. "No."

She sat down and folded her knees against her chest. This couldn't be happening. She was still asleep. Back at the police station. A nightmare. That's all this was. That's all this _could_ be.

Deep down, that's what she wanted to believe. But she knew it wasn't true. This was real. This was all horrifyingly real.

She stood up and wiped the tears away. "Come get me, you bastards!" She pulled an iron pipe from the wall. "Come and get me! I dare you! I fucking _dare_ you!"

Banging it against the glass that contained Natsu, Lucy screamed. It was bloodcurdling. Heart wrenching. Death defying. Breath stopping.

Soon after, she heard tens of hundreds of feet marching toward her. Turning around, she looked for the source of the sound.

Then she screamed a scream that wasn't angry.

It wasn't scared.

It wasn't sad.

It was insane.

Madness pumped through her veins, filling her with raw power. She swung every which way, laughing every time it collided with something. "Give. Me. Back. My. Friends!" She yelled, dancing through the crowd of death.

She felt her bar hit something.

She heard glass shatter.

She looked up, and watched as Erza came flowing from her prison, her red hair looking more like a veil than a halo. Without hesitation, she reached out and caught her, hugging her to her chest.

Eyeing her surroundings, she saw that the only thing there was the hallway of the police station.

No Natsu.

No Gray.

No creatures.

No darkness.

"Erza," She shook the girl in her arms. "Erza, wake up. Wake up, please."

Her eyes didn't open. Her head didn't budge.

Lucy held her hand under Erza's nose and felt for breathing.

It was there.

Light.

But it was there.

Heaving her friend onto her feet, she walked her to the bedroom where she had been staying. Her red hair scattered across the pillow, some strands covering her face. Lucy sat beside her, clasping her hands together and resting her forehead against them.

The only thing she could now was wait.

**~End Of Chapter Nine~**

**Yeah, so that chapter sucked. Sorry. I'm in the car right now. This the end of the fourth week I've been trying to write this. Hopefully there was something worth the while in here.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm really sorry I haven't been doing anything lately. I don't really have an excuse other than writer's block, and I really haven't been trying to think of anything to write, just been playing Zelda all day everyday. **

**It really isn't healthy. **

_Chapter Ten_

Lucy stared at the woman laying on the bed in front of her. Her light breathing had gotten heavier in the few hours she'd been sitting here, and Levy had knocked on the door to tell her that she hadn't found any records of her parents yet.

The black was starting to recede from her legs, and by this point it had gone halfway back down them. Lucy pulled her hair to the side and messily braided it. She had become well aware of the itchy, dry feeling that nagged at the back of her neck during this extremely long period of waiting.

She thought over everything that had happened, how many days had gone by, and estimated about how much longer it would take for this to end.

_Day One:_

_-Found highschool  
-Lost Gray  
-Lost Erza  
-Found Natsu's house_

_Day Two:_

-Showered for the first time in what felt like forever  
-Found abandoned gas station  
-Found car  
-Reunited with Gray in "purgatory"  
-Found Erza and Gray

_Day Three: _

_-Found police station  
-Found Levy_

_Day Four:_

_-Lost Natsu  
-Got Erza back_

That didn't seem right. She was only on her fourth day here? How could it have been such a short time? Her mind wandered in every direction, so much so that she couldn't even see anymore. So many images flashed through her head to the point where she was seeing four different things at one time. Or to be a bit more specific, the four days she had been there.

"Where am I?" A groggy voice asked from the bed.

"Erza!" Lucy gasped, before running to the bedside and clasping the redheads hand in her own. "You're in a police station that Natsu and I found." Her bottom lip quivered at the mention of Natsu.

"No offense," The girl furrowed her eyebrows. "But who're you?"

"I'm Lucy," the blonde said. "We've met before. We both woke up in the snow? Had no idea where we were?"

"That sounds familiar," Erza said. "But I don't remember you."

Lucy gulped. This was bad. What if this was how everyone was when they came out of those things? Her eyes began to water when she thought about Natsu forgetting her. Gray forgetting her. Her forgetting them.

"Wait!" Lucy cried, squatting down and reaching under the bed. "I have your jacket!"

Erza looked down at herself and squealed. "Why am I naked? Were you trying to do naughty things to me in my sleep? Are you _that _kind of girl?"

Lucy blushed and handed her the jacket. "N-No!" She stripped off Gray's pants and then her skirt, handing the latter to the nude girl in front of her. "You weren't _sleeping._ You were _dead. _I saved you."

"By stripping me?"

"No, you were already naked when I found you. It's a long story but you have to be willing to listen and understand. I know it sounds insane, but I'm telling the truth."

Erza closed her eyes and sighed. "Okay, go."

So, Lucy explained. From when they got to this godforsaken town to the point they were at now. Erza listened all the while with disbelieving eyes.

"I'm sorry all this happened, but I think there's been some mistake," Erza shooked her head. "I don't know who you are. I don't who these Gray and Natsu people are. Hell, I don't even think I know who _I _am."

"Please, Erza." Lucy begged. "You're the only hope I've got now."

"It's wrong what happened to your friends," Erza said. "But I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I can't help you."

"Erza, I'm begging you." Lucy got down on her knees to emphasize her point. "Please, I _have _to get them back."

"I don't know how I could be of help to you." Erza smoothed Lucy's skirt and sighed. "But I guess I'll do whatever I can to help you."

There was a knock on the door, and both girls jumped.

"Lucy?" They heard Levy call from the other side of the door. "Lucy, you in there?"

"Who is that?" Erza whispered.

"Her name's Levy, she works here in the police station."

"Lucy?" Levy called again.

"Sorry, come in!" Lucy stood up to greet the small woman as she came in.

"Lucy, I went to ask Natsu if he wanted something for breakfast, but he's gone! I looked ev- who are you?" She directed her attention to the red head on the bed.

"This is Erza," Lucy explained. "It's a really long story."

"Oh," Levy shook her head and closed her eyes. "Would y'all like anything to eat?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you!" The blonde smiled and shut the door, leaning against it sliding to the floor. She fisted her hands in her hair. "I feel terrible."

"I would too, if I were you," Erza said, walking over and hauling her to her feet.

"First things first," Lucy dusted herself off, let down her hair (which was now filled with luscious, blonde waves), retied it. "We need to find things to use as weapons."

"Such as?" Erza was hoping for an idea to go on.

"I don't know, I used a metal pole to get you out." Lucy rubbed her chin. "But this is a police station, they aren't going to have weapons here."

"What about that thing?" Erza nodded her head towards the giant latern that still sat in the room.

"We'd be lucky to pick it up with both of us lifting," Lucy hung her head. "It took all of Natsu's strength to carry the thing up here."

Erza strutted over to it and stared for a moment, before slipping her hand through a gap and lifting with ease. "It's all about how you lift it."

Lucy stared in awe, her jaw slightly hanging open.

Using the hand that wasn't occupied by a latern, Erza pushed Lucy's mouth shut. "You'll catch flies."

::::

It had been about four hours since Erza had woken up, and the only progress they had made was taking the stands off the bed and ripping Gray's pants to tie thick bands of fabric around their hands, to avoid being cut.

"This is going no where," Lucy sighed, resting her chin in her padded hands. "We might as well use the pillows from the bed as shields, at the rate this is going."

"We need to save the pillows, Lucy," Erza scolded her. "What if we get Natsu and Gray back here and they have no where to rest their heads?"

That's _what she's most worried about?_ Lucy thought, then decided not to say anything about it.

"Should we move Natsu's bed in here?" Erza asked.

Lucy turned the thought around in her head, guessing it would probably be better to do it in case they _did _get both of them back. "Yeah, we probably should."

So, the moved to the room next door, heaving on three and lifting the bed out of the room and into Lucy's. She ventured back to look at the barren room, where she and Natsu had been last night, and she could help but think that her last words to him were so rude. He really had only been joking around.

She jumped when Erza placed a hand on her shoulder and led her back to the room where they had been working. Silently, she worked at tearing the feet off the new bed, and placed them with the other ones.

Lucy thought back to the trays of food Levy had given them, the plastic forks that had come along with them. Maybe if they ripped the head off and used the handle... She shook her head to clear the thought. Stupid.

Erza, however, seemed to be extremely satisfied - determining what could be used as a weapon was her specialty. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth slightly as she examined the poles from the bed.

"Maybe if we found some rocks, we could sharpen them and tie them to the ends with some kind of string," She muttered, then scolded. "No, no, spears are long range weapons. More than likely, if we have to fight, it will be up close."

Although she didn't know this girl, or her friends, fighting was her element. She'd been itching lately to get her hands on a good fight.

"It here," Lucy whispered.

Erza looked up just in time to see black creeping toward her. She almost screamed, but no sound came out of her throat.

"It's a bit terrifying the first time," Lucy said, standing up. "But you get used to it. Grab the poles. We have men to save."

::::

If something could be more lifeless than death, this place was it. There wasn't anything here, just a few laterns swinging over their hands.

Every so often, however, they would see a few shadows creeping along the wall, and Lucy would try to make them shrink into the surroundings, only to realize they had been their own. Up ahead, Erza saw a blue light glowing.

"We're almost there." Lucy turned around and grabbed Erza's shoulders. "Ready?"

She wordlessly nodded and they continued.

_ERZA SCARLET_ was engraved on a small, metal tablet, and above it was a shattered tank. The redhead nearly fainted, but Lucy pulled her back to reality when she said, "Here they are."

Several scenes flashed through Erza's head when she looked at the two men before them, but everything was hazy. "So what do we do?"

"Hit the glass," Lucy instructed, holding onto the bar like it was a baseball bat. "I'll take Natsu, you take Gray."

::::

They had been there for what felt like hours, though in reality could only have been a few minutes. Lucy wiped her sweat drenched forehead, but Erza still seemed to be going strong.

A shadow danced along a wall.

"Erza, stop!" Lucy whisper-yelled.

She stopped, wondering what Lucy was worried about. "What's wrong?"

Lucy didn't answer. Just stared ahead at the corridor where they had previously been. She would recognize that head of hair anywhere.

"Natsu," She whispered, tears filling her eyes.

**I'm thinking 15 chapters in this story? Yeah, that seems about right. **

**I've decided to start posting what songs I listen to while I write...**

**Liar - Emilie Autumn  
Sally's Song - Amy Lee  
When It Rains - Paramore  
Ohio (Come Back To Texas) - Bowling For Soup  
This Is Our Town - We The Kings  
Sorry - Sleeping With Sirens  
Chop Suey - System of a Down**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! I meant to say that the last thing I posted was a preview of this chapter!**

**I'd like to apologize for the wait on this chapter. I know I explained in my author's note, but I still feel terrible about it. So, here goes nothing. **

"Natsu," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

The man stood in the doorway, his ruffled pink hair tossed around in its usual way. He smiled his normal, heart-warming smile, and Lucy stood up and started to shuffle over to him.

"Lucy, stop," Erza warned her, still holding her "weapon" at the ready.

Lucy cast a sidelong glance at her, then shifted her eyes back to Natsu, whose arms were tossed open wide. She longed for his touch, but the pleading look in Erza's eyes told her to do otherwise.

Not listening to her better judgment, she rushed forward and into his open arms, pressing her flushed cheeks against his warm chest. His long, calloused fingers ran through her hair as she cried warm, salty tears. Pounding at the speed of light, her heart almost couldn't contain itself. Lucy gasped for air through the fabric of his thick sweatshirt, and he pressed her thin, pale body harder against him.

"Lucy, get away from him," She heard the urgency in Erza's voice from behind her as she felt the warm, calming embrace she was entranced in turn icy hot.

Lifting her tear-stained face up to look at him, she screamed as his sweet, loving face slowly twisted into something like a nightmare. Natsu's relaxing, soft fingers began to feel like claws against her head.

Wrenching her body left and right, she struggled to free herself from his death grip, but he wouldn't let go. "Let go of me," she screamed, sobs racking her body. "You aren't Natsu! Let _go_!"

Only, it didn't let go. It clung to Lucy like she was the only thing keeping him standing. Its horrendous, gnarled hands slid down to her arms, as it began to lean in.

Lucy blocked her lips from any oncoming impact, but to her surprise, that isn't what happened.

Instead, she felt her entire being being sucked into the dark void of its mouth. Mesmerized, she looked forward, into the black holes where eyes were supposed to go. Images flashed through her mind, from her first memory, up to the moment when Erza had seen Purgatory for the second time around.

As she looked at the pictures running through her head, she could feel her body getting heavy, could hear Erza screaming for her in the background, could smell the metallic tang of blood as it flowed between her lips.

The next thing she remembered was something that felt like waking up, only she didn't.

Which way was up? Which way was down? Where was she? Her head spun, making her feel dizzy and light headed. She couldn't open her eyes. It was warm, almost wet. Her entire body was numb – or, at least, she could feel everywhere, but she couldn't feel the limbs themselves. It was quiet, or at least, it felt that way. For all she knew, she could be standing alone in the loudest room.

She tried opening her mouth to speak, but it was like it had been sewn shut. Her lips wouldn't move. Or maybe they were. Could she just not feel it? What was going on?

::::

Erza was confused. She had long since been awakened from the nightmare of watching Lucy being taken right before her eyes, but it was almost like Lucy was never even there.

There was a soft knock on the door.

Erza hesitated a moment. "Come in," She finally said.

"Hey, Lucy, I found some information on your parents." Levy stepped in, looking down at the stack of papers in her hands. She looked up and said, "Where's Lucy?"

"It's complicated, but I don't think she'll be back for a while." Erza felt herself tear up.

"Oh, well, I'm about to go leave and catch a flight back to my hometown to see my sister and her new baby." Levy handed the sheets over to the other girl. "Do you think that you can give those to her when she comes back?"

Erza shuffled through them for a moment, before nodding her head. Her neck popped a few times as she did so.

"Before you leave, do you mind telling me where the restrooms and showers are?" Erza asked, beginning to be able to smell herself.

"Down the hall and to the left."

Erza stood up as Levy exited the room, deciding she'd look at those papers later.

::::

Voices filled her head. Such profanity they contained. "_Get me the fuck out of here!" "Where the hell are we?" "Where's Lucy?"_

Wait… Lucy… That was her name, right? "Who is this?" She tried to say. The thought seemed to echo in her head instead of coming out her mouth, but strangely enough, someone spoke back.

"Who is _this_?" The person asked. "The question is _who are you_?"

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia," she thought proudly, waiting to hear the voice talk back.

"Really?" The voice sounded skeptical, yet anxious at the same time. "How can I be so sure?"

"I can't tell you unless you tell me who you are."

"Well, I won't tell you who I am until you prove to me that you're Lucy."

"How can I prove to you that I'm Lucy if you won't tell me who you are?"

It was silent for a moment. She feared that maybe her though had not gone through.

Then, "It's me - Natsu."

::::

As Erza stepped out of the shower, she could feel the steam seeping into her open pores. Her hair was soaked and pressed flat against her head and chest, with little drops flowing down her body and into small pools at her feet. She wrapped herself in one of the clean, white towels stacked in the corner, and grimaced as she stepped onto the cement floor that felt like it hadn't been cleaned it ages.

"_I'm Lucy Heartfilia._" A voice rang in her head. Lucy? That couldn't be right. Lucy was captured. And she planned to get her back.

"_Really? How can I be so sure?"_

What was happening here? She tried talking back to the voices to tell them to be quiet, but nothing was working.

Instead, another voice replied to her.

"_Oi, who'd'ya think ya are? Interrupting my train of thought there?"_

_Erza Scarlet, _she thought.

"_Erza?" The voice replied. "Is that really you?"_

_Yes, and who might this be? _

"_Erza, it's Gray. Where are you?"_

_I'm in a building, in the real world. How can you talk to me?_

"_I don't know, telepathy or something'?"_

_Is there any way you can contact Lucy and Natsu like this?_

"_I can try."_

There was a pause as Gray tried to speak to Lucy and Natsu, but no one replied.

"_Nope."_

Erza sighed. _Goodbye, Gray._

She ignored is cries of "don't go!" and "Talk to me!" as she made her way back to Lucy's room.

She sat down on the bed and picked up the stack of papers, shuffling through them.

_Jude Heartfilia_

_Owner of Heartfilia Railways_

_Spouse of Layla Heartfilia_

_Father of Lucy Heartfilia_

_Foster Father of Wendy Marvell _

_Born: June 17, 1964_

_Died: September 23, 2013_

Dead? That couldn't be right.

_Layla Heartfilia_

_Spouse of Jude Heartfilia_

_Mother of Lucy Heartfilia_

_Foster Mother of Wendy Marvell_

_Born: April 14, 1970_

_Died: September 23, 2013_

_Wendy Marvell_

_Born: October 10, 1999_

_Died: September 23, 2013_

_All members of the family were killed in a car crash after running in to something on the road. Their daughter, Lucy was reported missing after a thorough search of the entire town. _

Erza dropped the papers.

She had been picked up in a car, had they possibly thought she was Lucy?

Gray had been hit by something moving quickly, had he been hit by their car? Was that what they ran into?

Erza dropped the papers and fell to her knees, tears spilling over the edges of her eyes.

**Songs listened to while writing this chapter:**

**Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen**

**Candy Man – Christina Aguilera**

**For Your Entertainment – Adam Lambert**

**Fire – Sleeping with Sirens**

**Gentlemen Aren't Nice – Emilie Autumn**

**Abraham's Daughter – Arcade Fire**

**The Ghost of You – My Chemical Romance**

**Jack's Lament – The All American Rejects**


End file.
